Resident swindled in Costa Rican land-buying scheme
December 30th, 2009 | by admin |A Gahanna resident said he believes a family acquaintance stole from him in December of 2006 in a fraudulent investment scheme.
The suspect convinced the victim, a Ridge Crest Drive resident, to invest $25,000 into a land-buying contract and validated the purchase with a fraudulent wire transfer, the victim said.
The victim was finally contacted by a lawyer who said no Costa Rica property had been purchased as part of any partnership.
The case was forwarded to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Police arrested a 43-year-old female who used a neighbor’s vehicle without permission at 5:40 p.m. Dec. 20 in the 3800 block of Morse Road.
The reporting person said the suspect was supposed to pick her up from the hospital and return her car.
After an initial attempt to pick up the victim, during which the victim was not released from the hospital, the suspect never returned, the victim said.
The suspect was notified by the victim’s daughter that she was supposed to return the car.
Gahanna Special Weapons and Tactics team officers arrested a 37-year-old Gahanna male at his residence at 7 a.m. Dec. 23 in the 300 block of Triumph Way.
The suspect had warrants filed in Gahanna on charges of domestic violence and assault, an officer said.
He was transported to Franklin County Jail.
Employees of a store said an unknown woman stole five pairs of designer eyeglasses at 5:15 p.m. Dec. 17 in the 300 block of South Hamilton Road.
The reporting person said she recognized the suspect from a previous shoplifting incident that occurred during the summer but was not reported to the police.
The glass frames totaled more than $1,300 in value, the reporting person said.
A woman said her front license plate was stolen from her vehicle at 5:55 p.m. Dec. 17 in the 700 block of Agler Road.
The victim said she knows the plate couldn’t have fallen off because it was secured by two screws.
The plate was entered into a police database.
A Gahanna resident said his money was stolen when he attempted to purchase a dog on the Internet Dec. 14 in the 600 block of Forestwood Drive.
The victim said he was notified after transferring $350 that he had to send an additional $750 for shipping.
The airline listed as the shipper does not exist, the victim said.
After the victim confronted the seller about the airline, the seller ended their phone call.
A 19-year-old Gahanna resident said he was assaulted by three males at 8:45 p.m. Dec. 18 near his residence in the 500 block of Hemston Court.
The victim said he refused to give the suspects his mp3 player.
One of the males, who the victim knows only as “Christian,” punched him in the face, the man told police.
A Columbus resident said her debit card was stolen at a restaurant at 8:40 p.m. Dec. 18 in the 200 block of South Hamilton Road.
The victim said she purchased food in the amount of $3.59 and later realized she was not given her card back.
After checking her bank account, the victim found $131 worth of fraudulent charges had been made using her card.
