ComJoT / Joe Humberger Feedback: Bankruptcy and Unfulfilled Orders

[AlexCA]

Hello, everyone.

Unfortunately, this appears to be yet another troubling small-business case directly involving members of this forum.

Joe Humberger, whose full name is Joseph Humberger, and his wife, Dawn Humberger *, appear to have become involved in what now looks like an outright scam. Dawn is mentioned here because she is listed as an manager (owner) of ComJoT LLC.

It is unclear whether ComJoT LLC and ComJoT Radios LLC are legally the same company. However, both names are associated with Joe’s businesses and appear in different places.

Here is what is currently known:

• ComJoT is no longer a TAIT dealer. Its dealership was revoked.
• The tait-radio.com website is no longer related to TAIT. It now redirects to a website-builder page advertising CJ-XXX terminals.
• Joe has stated that he has “closed the LMR side of the business and is going in a different direction.” Those are his own words.
• HRO, hamradio.com, has removed all ComJoT products from its catalog. HRO previously sold ComJoT multimode terminals intended for amateur radio users.
• ComJoT LLC is currently involved in bankruptcy proceedings
• Joe attempted to shift his obligations onto other TAIT dealers by asking them to fulfill his customer orders or temporarily lend him equipment so that he could settle what he owed to a customer. However, according to one dealer who spoke with me directly, Joe failed to repay at least one dealer who helped him.
• Joe has outstanding obligations to customers. He accepted advance payments, but the money has not been returned and the products have not been shipped. This is based on my personal experience.
• Payments are accepted and invoices are issued almost instantly, sometimes within five minutes. At the same time, Joe may leave emails unanswered for weeks or even months. This is based on my personal experience.
• Paid orders are not being fulfilled. This is based on my personal experience.
• In my case, Joe represented orders as having been shipped and later claimed that the packages had been lost by USPS. This is based on my personal experience.
• Refunds appear to be issued only partially and selectively, particularly to people with connections in law enforcement or to customers who have submitted a formal demand letter or filed a lawsuit. This is based on my personal experience.

Overall, please exercise extreme caution, as this appears to be yet another scam in the radio industry, coming right after the radioparts.com situation. All of Joe’s current radio-related businesses appear to be inactive or effectively defunct. He explicitly told me that he was “going in a different direction” and intended to start a new business.

Additional reports supporting these concerns can be found in Facebook groups, as well as in two complaints filed with BBB.org.

* The names of LLC organizers and owners are part of the public record and are available through the Louisiana state business registry. This information may therefore be lawfully referenced and republished here.

 

[K7UDZ]

@joehumberger any response to allegations by @AlexCA?

 

[KE4ZNR]

@joehumberger any response to allegations by @AlexCA?

Considering it has been about a year since he last posted here the odds are not in your favor that you will see a response.

 

[KevinC]

Considering it has been about a year since he last posted here the odds are not in your favor that you will see a response.

But he did visit this morning...

 

[AlexCA]

But he did visit this morning...

He is fully aware of the entire situation. He even speaks with some of the people involved by phone and responds to others by email.

 

[K7UDZ]

odds are not in your favor that you will see a response

I don't really expect a response, if he's in legal proceedings he may also have been instructed not to talk about it - and also, these cases are rarely as simple as someone woke up one day and decided to commit fraud, there's usually more to the story.

But I wanted to make a good-faith effort to be sure he saw this thread and the allegations in case he had missed it, in case he has anything to share publicly.

 

[AlexCA]

The situation is getting more and more interesting. A court ruling has now surfaced, and the original source is easy to find through Google. This is far more serious than many naive people seem to realize. A couple of people are still wondering whether Joe can be trusted, whether he simply got in over his head, or whether he deserves a second chance. Just read the court documents and draw your own conclusions.

According to the Information filed on September 30, 2019, as Document 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, United States v. Joseph Humberger, Case No. 3:19-cr-00081-DRL-MGG-1, Joseph “Joe” Humberger used 911iNet LLC to defraud Elkhart County between March and September 2016. His company invoiced the county $217,138.12 for 60 radios, accessories, and a warranty, and on April 21, 2016, he impersonated an employee in an email falsely claiming the radios had already been ordered. The county then issued checks for $37,720.12 on May 2, 2016, and $179,418.00 on May 9, 2016. Humberger delivered only 10 radios, which were represented as Motorola products but were actually assembled from refurbished parts improperly removed from a Motorola manufacturing facility; the remaining 50 radios were never ordered or delivered, and the money was not refunded after the county cancelled the order around September 26, 2016. He pleaded guilty on December 4, 2019, and the corrected Amended Judgment, Document 49, was entered on December 11, 2020, sentencing him to 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release, $217,138.12 in restitution, and forfeiture in the same amount. Jurisdiction over his supervised release was later transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Pierce Office, under Document 61 dated May 25, 2022, filed there as Case No. 9:22-tp-80013-AMC, Document 1, on June 23, 2022.

 

[GreenLantern2814]

Wow. I just found this thread. I have $17k in outstanding Tait radio orders through Joe from earlier this year, and I've been actively ghosted.

 

[AlexCA]

Wow. I just found this thread. I have $17k in outstanding Tait radio orders through Joe from earlier this year, and I've been actively ghosted.

You need to retain an attorney immediately.

According to several people within Joe’s circle, he checks his email constantly. It is set up on his iPhone, and he is almost always available, but he responds only to the contacts he chooses to engage with. Here's confirmation of this from July 22, 2026:

 

[AlexCA]

Another disturbing fact has also come to light. Several people reportedly received refunds only after agreeing to conceal information about Joe’s criminal record and his alleged involvement in fraudulent activity. I am already aware of two such cases in which people helped cover up Joe’s misconduct.

Somehow, I have unintentionally become a central point for collecting information from people who are afraid, embarrassed, or financially disinclined to take action against Joe. Because I am an independent third party, this information has gradually been coming to me.

 

[MTS2000des]

This guy...12 years ago he sold a friend of mine an APX7000, took his money and absconded, gave stories about his niece in the hospital, dog ate the homework, etc and only after being threatened with a criminal warrant for felony theft by deception did he send the radio, which was missing screws but otherwise intact. That was in 2015. A leopard never changed his spots.

 

[AlexCA]

There are actually people crazy enough to cover for him. They claim that he is a kind, sweet person and that all of this is completely baseless slander. For the record, I have the court documents in my possession.

 

[GreenLantern2814]

This guy...12 years ago he sold a friend of mine an APX7000, took his money and absconded, gave stories about his niece in the hospital, dog ate the homework, etc and only after being threatened with a criminal warrant for felony theft by deception did he send the radio, which was missing screws but otherwise intact. That was in 2015. A leopard never changed his spots.

If only he wasn't previously recommended on this forum as a good way to get Tait radios in non-massive bulk quantities.

 

[MTS2000des]

I called him out on Batlabs in 2015. He made right so it was closed. He can gaslight and play the victim all day, but court documents don't lie.

 

[AM909]

Wow. I just found this thread. I have $17k in outstanding Tait radio orders through Joe from earlier this year, and I've been actively ghosted.

Just to clarify, did you pre-pay for those?

 

[GreenLantern2814]

Just to clarify, did you pre-pay for those?

Sure did.

In my experience, with other dealers (for other brands), no one submits orders to the manufacturer (L3Harris, Kenwood, Motorola, Tait) without pre-paying.

 

[AM909]

Sorry for your trouble, @GreenLantern2814 .

 

[mikegilbert]

Name sounded familiar, so I searched my email accounts.

Found some threads on P25.ca from 2013 regarding shill bidding and scamming people via ebay. He was claiming to have a "Special Deputy Commission" in the "VEST" unit through St. Joseph, Indiana.

 

[FFPM571]

Name sounded familiar, so I searched my email accounts.

Found some threads on P25.ca from 2013 regarding shill bidding and scamming people via ebay. He was claiming to have a "Special Deputy Commission" in the "VEST" unit through St. Joseph, Indiana.

That is why the name sounds familar...( other than the Hamburger) I remember hearing about him scamming back then too. In 2012 had some XTL radios and stuff. I was working deal on with him and to save the cost of shipping I would drive from Chicago West suburbs to NW Indiana to pick them up. He INSISTED on shipping them to the point of saying he would cover the cost out of pocket .... I my spidey senses told me to walk away so I tried to and he hounded me for weeks after that calling me a tirekicker and he would throw my name out on all the boards as a bad buyer.. I told him I wanted to physiscally see and pay in person on pick up.. He pulled I'm a deputy sheriff ..I won't screw you over.. I have people who vouch for me...yada yada yada. I finally stopped replying to Emails and blocked his #.. Never heard a word from him on any boards or groups...He was FOS with his threats

 

[GreenLantern2814]

Wish all this came out when I was buying from him for our company. And/or I wish I paid more attention.