My name is Dr Ben Langton. I am the owner of www.quickmath.com and I reside in Sydney, Australia.
The purpose of this page is to allow me to bear witness to the dishonesty of an individual who I was unfortunate enough to encounter in 1998. The individual in question introduced himself to me as Serge Stankovic, although later enquiries revealed his full name to be Srdjan Stankovic.
In 1998, Mr Stankovic visited the University of Sydney, on exchange from the American University in London. At the time, I was offering my services as a mathematics tutor, and Mr Stankovic contacted me in this regard. I started tutoring Mr Stankovic on a regular basis and charged him $A30 an hour.
Towards the end of the year, Mr Stankovic claimed that he was running short of money, although he said he was expecting a payment from his mother. Since his exams were imminent, I agreed to continue tutoring Mr Stankovic on credit, and he promised to pay me as soon as possible. In total, Mr Stankovic ended up owing me $A160. As the weeks went by, and I became increasingly nervous about the outstanding payment, Mr Stankovic continually reassured me that I would get my money as soon as the payment from his mother arrived. I took Mr Stankovic at his word, and didn't take the issue any further at that time. I became alarmed, however, when Mr Stankovic announced that he would spend his last week in Australia visiting a popular tourist destination on the Queensland coast. This behaviour seemed strikingly at odds with his claims of financial difficulties, and I once again became highly concerned that I wouldn't be paid. I rang Mr Stankovic just before he left for Queensland, and he again assured me that I would be paid and that he would never even consider trying to avoid paying me. So convincing was Mr Stankovic that I took him at his word. Of course, upon returning from Queensland, Mr Stankovic left the country without paying me, and I have not heard from him since.
Although in hindsight, my trust in this individual seems extremely naive, it must be said that he is an extremely smooth operator, and is highly practiced in the art of putting people at ease. It would probably be accurate to describe him as a 'confidence trickster.' Furthermore, he had previously told me at great lengths about how he had cheated on a chemistry exam, and he seemed extremely proud of this accomplishment. Again, with hindsight, it seems obvious that if a person exhibits dishonesty in one area of their life, then one should assume that they will be dishonest in all areas of their life.
To all potential or existing employers of this person, be warned : Serge Stankovic is extremely dishonest and cannot, repeat, CANNOT be trusted. He will say and do whatever it takes to further his self-interest, and he is very, very persuasive. He is an accomplished liar and a cheat. The leopard does not change its spots. BE WARNED.
I understand that there are other people with the same name who may inadvertently be affected by this page. The person I refer to in the above message was approximately 21 years of age in 1998, was of medium height and build, with brown hair. As mentioned, he was a student at the American University in London at the time. Furthermore, he expressed a very strong interest in gaining employment in the advertising industry.
If you would like any further information about Mr Stankovic, please feel free to contact me.