SANTA PAULA : Man Arrested Over Gold Ingot Scam

Six months after a pair of alleged con artists persuaded her to buy a bogus gold bar for $900, a Santa Paula woman spotted one of the suspects Tuesday and notified police, who arrested him, authorities said.

After the arrest of Silvestre Cruz Resendiz, 52, of Los Angeles on suspicion of grand theft by fraud and conspiracy, Santa Paula police said they are looking for other possible victims of the scam.

The unidentified woman who led police to the suspect had not reported the September crime, in which an older Latina woman initiated contact by asking for directions, Santa Paula Police Sgt. Gary Marshall said.

As the two women talked, a man later identified as Resendiz joined in the conversation, Marshall said.

The older woman said she had gold bars to sell and gave one to Resendiz, purportedly to sell at a nearby jewelry store, Marshall said.

The man returned a few minutes later with what he said was $10,000 in an envelope, he said.

The victim then bought one of the bars for $900 and her gold bracelet, only to have the ingot tested later and learn that it was not gold.

With the arrest of Resendiz on Tuesday in the 800 block of East Main Street, Santa Paula police are asking other possible victims of the gold ingot fraud to contact local police or the Sheriff’s Department.