Crime Report: Woman files fraud report after gift card for nephew comes up empty

Jan. 16

Vandalism: 4400 block of Cornishon Avenue. A man reported that sometime between 6 p.m. on Dec. 22 and 8 a.m. on Jan. 3, someone snipped a 5-foot hole in a chain-link fence. He said it did not appear anything had been taken from the property.

Burglary, vehicle: 900 block of Town Center Drive. A woman reported that she parked her Buick Enclave on the second story of the parking garage at about 2:30 p.m. Jan. 16, locking it via her remote key fob. When she returned to the car half an hour later and started the vehicle, she received a warning message that read “Auto theft attempt,” which appears if someone without the ignition key tries to start the car. The victim then noticed that a Canon camera and camera bag were missing from her car. A responding deputy noted that the Buick’s driver’s side keyhole had been damaged.

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Fraud by false pretense: 4700 block of La Cañada Boulevard. A woman reported that on Nov. 11 she met a man named “Paul Kim,” about 70 to 75 years old, at La Sa-Rang Church in Los Angeles. The man told her he needed a home equity line of credit in order to cash a check he was going to receive. She offered him her Bank of the West HELOC account number. He in turn gave her the contact numbers of two males, “Carlos” and “Richard Kelly,” who he said would be sending a check from their company.

On Nov. 30, the victim received a cashier’s check (in an amount redacted from the crime report) and placed it into her HELOC account. She was told by “Carlos” and “Richard Kelly” to withdraw a specific amount (redacted from the report) from her HELOC account and send it to them via a money order. They told her she could keep the difference between the amount they originally sent her and the amount they were requesting back from her, as they said they had sent her the wrong amount.

On Dec. 2, she sent them a wire transfer via bankofwest.com. On Dec. 5 she made a second wire transfer to them. On Jan. 16, the victim was told by a manager at a Bank of the West in Sierra Madre that the cashier’s check she had received Nov. 30 was fake.

After she reported the crime to the CV Sheriff’s Station, a deputy attempted unsuccessfully to reach the three suspects using the phone numbers the victim had been given by “Paul Kim.” Two of the phone numbers were out of service and the third had no voice mail.

Jan. 18

Fraudulent use of access card: 400 block of Foothill Boulevard. A woman reported that at around noon on Jan. 6 she purchased a Visa gift card from Ralphs for her nephew. On Jan. 10, her nephew attempted to use it at Lotus Restaurant, but it was declined for insufficient funds. The woman then contacted the Visa fraud department and was informed that the gift card had been cashed on Jan. 8 at Trader Joe’s. She then spoke to a Trader Joe’s manager, who said the Visa had been cashed on Jan. 7 to buy a gift card for his company. Her nephew said he did not use his Visa at Trader Joe’s. So, the woman notified the Visa fraud department who said it would open an investigation that could take up to 90 days to resolve. She was advised by the company to file a police report.

Jan. 20

Burglary: 2100 block of Foothill Boulevard. A woman reported that she closed a restaurant at 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 19, and that at about 9:50 a.m. the next day she received a call from an employee who told her the business had been broken into and the cash register was missing.

While responding deputies were at the scene, one was flagged down by a plumber who had just finished some work at a neighboring business. The workman said he had spotted a cash register in an alley behind the restaurant, and he handed them some cash he’d found next to the register.

A surveillance camera video captured some movement in the area at about 6:25 a.m. that day, but the footage was too dark to reveal any further details. A rear security door was damaged during the incident.

Unauthorized use of access card: 500 block of Knight Way. A man reported that someone used his Southland Credit Union debit card to make two online transactions without his permission. He said he learned of the purchases on Jan. 7 when he was contacted by a customer service representative from the credit union advising him of the two suspicious purchases made to Southern Railway. The man told the representative the purchases were not authorized and he canceled the debit card, which he said had never left his possession.

Compiled by Carol Cormaci.