An Asheville Highway couple was swindled out of $70,000 after being convinced to purchase gold coins and hand them over to a stranger in a gas station parking lot.
The couple contacted the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Friday. The female victim told investigators that her computer had been locked, preventing access. She called a number on the screen and was connected to a man who identified himself as Paul Harris, claiming to be a Microsoft representative. He informed her that her computer had been hacked. She then called what she believed to be the Eastman Credit Union fraud department, where the male victim spoke to a second con man named Mark Wilson. Wilson claimed he could resolve the issue and instructed the male victim to purchase $70,000 worth of gold coins.
The male victim withdrew $70,000 from ECU in the form of a cashier’s check and purchased the gold coins. Wilson told him to keep the purpose of the purchase secret and to stay on the phone throughout the transaction.
The male victim was directed to the Phillips 66 market on Asheville Highway, where he was told to wait for a man named Jack. Wilson provided a code that Jack would use to identify himself. When Jack arrived and gave the correct code, the male victim handed over the bag of gold coins. Jack placed the coins in his backpack and walked back across the highway. Wilson then told the male victim he could leave once the gold was accounted for and that he would receive new debit cards and account numbers in the coming days. The victim described Jack as a slender Black male in his mid-to-late 20s with braided hair.
Employees at a nearby business reported seeing two suspicious men at their location for over an hour. One man matched Jack’s description and was seen repeatedly getting in and out of a vehicle, often looking towards the gas station. The other man, described as heavier set with thinning hair, middle-aged, and having a foreign accent, entered the store, made a purchase, and then sat outside, talking on the phone.
The employees observed the man matching Jack’s description crossing the Asheville Highway to the victim’s car at the Phillips 66 station, where the exchange of the gold coins occurred. The man then returned to the SUV, which had Georgia license plates, and left the parking lot after a few minutes.
