{"id":12828,"date":"2015-06-13T17:53:48","date_gmt":"2015-06-14T00:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=12828"},"modified":"2015-06-13T17:55:27","modified_gmt":"2015-06-14T00:55:27","slug":"coin-dealer-con-man-targeted-elderly-victims-stole-more-than-260000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=12828","title":{"rendered":"Coin Dealer Con Man Targeted Elderly Victims \u2014 Stole More Than $260,000"},"content":{"rendered":"

FBI BLOG:<\/strong><\/p>\n

(June 9, 2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"FBI<\/a><\/p>\n

Financial fraud comes in all shapes and sizes. And while corporate criminals, inside traders, and Ponzi schemers often cause their victims to lose millions of dollars, the case of the crooked coin dealer from New York illustrates that even relatively small-time fraudsters must answer for their crimes.<\/p>\n

Chrysanthos Nicholas, a 55-year-old rare coin and precious metals dealer, will be spending the next 27 months in federal prison for stealing more than $260,000 from some of his elderly customers.<\/p>\n

Nicholas had been a coin dealer for a number of years and had developed relationships with collectors around the country. He persuaded three elderly clients\u2014all well into their 80s\u2014to send him coins with the promise that he would value them, hold them, and sell them for the clients on their request.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch arrangements are not uncommon in the coin collector world,\u201d said Special Agent Shane Ball, who investigated the case from the FBI\u2019s Minneapolis Division. But after the dealer had received coin collections from the men, \u201che promptly stopped returning their calls,\u201d Ball said. \u201cHe completely dropped off the radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coins Valued at $130,000<\/strong><\/p>\n

In one case, according to court documents, Nicholas entered into a contract with a client in rural Minnesota to evaluate, store and sell the client\u2019s coins. In 2010, at Nicholas\u2019 direction, the client mailed his coins\u2014valued at more than $130,000\u2014to Nicholas in Southold, New York.<\/p>\n

Later, after Nicholas stopped answering or returning the client\u2019s calls, the victim went to his local sheriff\u2019s office and made a complaint. Because the coin dealer lived outside of Minnesota, the sheriff\u2019s deputy called the FBI for assistance. Ball, a 20-year veteran of the Bureau, explained that agents regularly offer assistance to local law enforcement in these types of matters that cross state lines.<\/p>\n

Ball, in turn, requested assistance from the FBI\u2019s New York Field Office, and Special Agent Zacharia Baldwin was dispatched to interview Nicholas.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy belief is that Nicholas picked these particular victims because they were elderly and he thought he could get away with it,\u201d Ball said. For their part, the victims had all done business with Nicholas in the past with no problems. \u201cThey had every reason to suspect that this was another business deal that would go well,\u201d Ball added. \u201cBut Nicholas used the trust he had built up over the years to steal from them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, Nicholas sold the coins and used the money for his personal benefit. When he was charged with mail fraud in July 2014, nothing remained of his victims\u2019 collections. At his sentencing last month, a federal judge ordered Nicholas to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution to his victims after he completes his jail term.<\/p>\n

Although the money Nicholas stole from his clients is small compared to some financial frauds, Ball is quick to point out that it represented a great deal to the victims\u2014it was one man\u2019s life savings. \u201cOur goal is always to seek justice for victims,\u201d he said, \u201cwhether they are corporate shareholders or individuals from small-town America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FBI BLOG: (June 9, 2015) Financial fraud comes in all shapes and sizes. And while corporate criminals, inside traders, and Ponzi schemers often cause their victims to lose millions of dollars, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[648],"tags":[1426,1722],"class_list":["post-12828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-voices","tag-coins","tag-fbi"],"yoast_head":"\nCoin Dealer Con Man Targeted Elderly Victims \u2014 Stole More Than $260,000<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"FBI BLOG: (June 9, 2015) Financial fraud comes in all shapes and sizes. 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