A group of thieves is believed to be preying on small business owners in Rhode Island and New York, and at least one body shop owner has been targeted. But thanks to his observations, police were able to track down and arrest a woman believed to be involved with the thefts.
Paul Furtado, owner of The Car Works in Warren, Rhode Island, told police that he discovered several company checks were missing in late March after a bank employee called to tell him a check from his shop for $3,600 bounced, EastBayRI.com reported. Furtado discovered that two other checks were missing from his office, and, knowing neither he nor his employees were responsible, he immediately suspected a group of men – one with gold teeth – who visited the shop in March.
During the visit, one of the men asked Furtado to inspect a Ford Expedition, while the other two men stayed behind in the shop’s office area. Suspicious of the visitors, Furtado wrote down their license plate number as they drove away and gave it to police after he found out about the bounced check, the Web site reported.
Police traced the license plate to an area rental car company and used surveillance to identify a woman from Georgia renting the Expedition with the man with gold teeth. Police believe the group is involved with other check larceny cases that happened in New York in April. In once incident, three men bought a suit for a homeless man and asked him to cash what is believed to be stolen checks. Police claim the arrested woman also rented a car for the men in New York.
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Click HERE to read about a phone scam targeting body shops.
