(Facebook.com/Westboro Police Department)
WESTBORO (WBZ-AM) -- Westboro Police are trying to identify two men they say scammed three others out of over $300,000 in the sale of gold dust that turned out to be fake.
In a post on their Facebook page, the department explained the scam. They said the three victims met with a white man going by the name “Jesse O’Brien” and a black man going by the name “Frank,” both of whom are pictured in surveillance images above, at a hotel on Computer Drive on July 17 to buy gold dust. Police said the victims tested a sample of the dust and found it to be authentic, and agreed to pay $306,000 for 15kg of it in total--first paying $26,000 in cash and then sending the remaining $280,000 in a Bank of America account.
The victims were given a safe, which they were told they’d receive a combination for when the transfer of the money was approved. They were given a combination on July 19 that didn’t work, so they hired a locksmith to open it--finding counterfeit gold inside.
Anyone with information about the men pictured above is asked to contact Westboro Detective Sgt. Chet Hallice or Detective Dean Paine at 508-475-4825.