Two Oregon teenagers were recently sentenced to pay restitution after selling counterfeit gold bars and fake Rolex watches online.
According to a story published by The Associated Press earlier this month, The Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office said the Bend, Ore. teens admitted the allegations against them and will pay restitution to their victims. Because the case was handled in juvenile court, further sentencing details weren’t published.
According to the attorney’s office, the teens made nearly $60,000 selling hundreds of fake one-ounce gold bars they claimed were struck by the Royal Canadian Mint and the Perth Mint.
The court heard the teens purchased the bars, which came in legitimate-looking packaging, from a Chinese e-commerce site and sold them to Bend residents via Craigslist.
The duo sold fake bars they claimed were struck by the Royal Canadian Mint and the Perth Mint. (Photo by Bend Police Department)
MARCH ARRESTS
This March, Bend police arrested a pair of 17-year-old boy, who were later jailed in the Deschutes County Juvenile Department.
“The juveniles were sophisticated and used multiple ways to conceal their identity and scheme,” police said, adding the victims include two 29-year-old men from Bend and another 47-year-old man from Redmond.
Police arrested the teens on suspicion of aggravated theft by deception and conspiracy as well as other felonies. One of the suspects also faces a charge of money laundering.
CAND TO IMPLEMENT FAKE ALERT SYSTEM
The Canadian Association of Numismatic Dealers (CAND) is planning to implement an alert system to warn its members of counterfeit material following a series of fake bullion busts. The announcement was made by CAND President Michael Findlay earlier this year, after three CAND members fell victim to unscrupulous sellers of fake bullion last fall.
“If something is known as counterfeit, it will be shared among our members,” said Findlay, who also recently joined CCN as the new editor of Trends.
Findlay added the plan is to implement an email broadcast system in addition to adding alerts to the CAND website, which was recently updated.
“It’s beneficial for our members to know what’s going on, and also to be able to inform entities like yours [Canadian Coin News] that this is what we’ve discovered, and that these are the details.”