A man who bought fake gold bars over the Internet as security to steal over 600,000 GBP from friends and family is facing 15 years in jail.
Instead of providing high interest on genuine investments, the reality is that the 28-year-old man’s lucrative offer to his loved ones was nothing more than a Ponzi scheme, using fake Perth Mint Kangaroo Minted gold bars to make his victims believe their investments were secure.
Police in the city of Bielsko-Biala in the southern Polish region of Silesian Voivodeship have reportedly concluded their investigation into the 28-year-old unnamed suspect.
Video Credit: CEN
He is accused of conning 3 million PLN (617,000 GBP) from loved ones by offering them counterfeit gold bars as credit.
To keep up appearances, the suspect also made initial repayments at a high rate of interest to keep creditors enthusiastic about his ‘investment brainwaves’.
The alleged conman told them that he was using the borrowed money to invest in profitable schemes which would be very fruitful for them.
Police spokesperson Elwira Jurasz told local media: “While borrowing large sums of money, he gave counterfeit gold bars weighing one ounce (28 grammes) to his business partners.
“He bought them over the internet for 80 to 120 PLN (16 to 25 GBP) each.”
It is unclear where online he bought the fake gold bars from and whether the manufacturers are the subject of a legal probe.
Jurasz added: “At the time, he was fully aware that he had no means to repay the loans and the promised profit percentages.”
The suspect also told some investors that they should rent a safety deposit box to safely store the fake gold bars.
He faces up to 15 years behind bars if found guilty.
According to the government of Western Australia: “Perth Mint Kangaroo Minted gold bars are beautifully crafted from 99.99 percent pure gold and available in a convenient choice of weights ranging from 1 gram to 10 troy ounces.”
The Perth Mint Bullion Blog states: “We’ve recently been informed about fake Kangaroo Minted Gold Bars being offered for sale in lookalike black plastic cards. We report cases like this to the Australian Federal Police and also to eBay with a request to have the offending items removed from sale.
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Story By: Bartosz Staszewski, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
