Craigslist scam artist: busted

[improviz]

http://kplr11.com/2016/03/03/rolex-s...ed-in-clayton/

CLAYTON, MO (KPLR) - A warning about a phony watch swap in Clayton, which cost one man his Rolex plus nearly $1,000 in cash. The scam appeared so detailed, it seemed legitimate.

It involved Craigslist, a St. Louis pawn shop, a Clayton jewelry store, and a supposed security guard.

According to a spokesperson for the Clayton Police Department, 31-year-old Ravindar Lalsandhu of north St. Louis County took a sales executive from Kansas City for thousands.

Clayton police gave this account:
Via Craigslist, they agreed to swap the victim’s $7,000 Rolex Submariner for a more expensive Rolex Daytona. Lalsandhu convinced the victim to pay $993 to get Lalsandhu’s Rolex Daytona out of a St. Louis pawn shop to make the swap. Rolex’s come with official documentation, which the pawn shop did not have. Lalsandhu told the victim Simon’s Jewelers in Clayton serviced the watch and had the documentation. The two went there, swapped watches in the rear parking lot and headed into the store. A security guard stopped them and told them they had to move their cars. Lalsandhu got into his car with the victim’s Rolex and left. The staff at Simon’s told the victim the watch he was left with was a fake and that security guard he saw did not work for the store.
Experts at Timekeeps Vintage Jewelry and Watches in Clayton heard about the case and were not surprised. They sell and repair Rolex watches; watches often worth anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000, or more.
With that kind of money on the line and fake watches that can look so much like the real thing, you can’t be reckless.

“It can look real, it can feel real. Until it’s opened you don’t know if it’s real. Be careful. Take the precautions. Buy from who you know,” said Ella Ilyashov of Timekeepers. “Never let your merchandise, never let your watch, never let whatever it is, your possessions, out of your sight…you have to buy from a reputable person, period.”

There was no evidence of Lalsandhu working the scam on anyone else, police said.

Though it appears he may have had at least one other person working with him, he's the only one charged so far: one count of felony stealing.