American Rolex Robber who preys on California in person sellers

[Modiferous]

The Rolex Robber from northern California has been tied to at least eight such thefts all over California. Generally he tries to take the watch in a way that results in a simple grand theft (no force or violence involved), but is not above grabbing it and running too (which results in a robbery case).

His victims have included both individual private sellers and established watch dealers.

His basic M.O. is to contact sellers of high end watches on
eBay
Craig’s List
RolexForums
Chrono24

and any other online venue for watch sales

and transition / switch the contact to telephone. Once he has the seller’s phone number, he likes to switch from text to a voice call, and during a series of phone calls will try to make the seller feel at ease about meeting him in person to purchase the watch.

Common themes presented by the African American buyer include:

That he lives in some part of Northern California, such as Monterey, Lake County, etc.
That he is a collector, buying the watch as an investment
That he already owns some expensive timepieces, generally talks about Audemars, or Rolexes
Mentions that he is married, and has a child, usually a daughter, who is involved with some kind of team sport like softball or baseball.
The Rolex Robber often mentions that it is hard to buy Rolex watches directly from the dealer, and likens this to the lack of availability of brand new Ferraris from the Ferrari dealership.

Variations on the above refer to a “niece” instead of a daughter
Has mentioned a Daytona that he inherited from his father
Has mentioned a deceased brother who owned a Daytona

Has claimed to be in the cannabis business, as a middleman between growers and dispensaries,
also has claimed to be in the construction business.

Is very knowledgable about watches. Likes to ask if the watch has ever been “polished” and about how he prefers watches that have never been polished.

Early in the process he will offer to text you a picture of his ID, which is something that he generates online that looks quite real, but is completely fake. The ID appears to be on some kind of wood grain table or floor.

Past fake IDs he has used:









He will ask for your ID in exchange.

If the seller asks for some kind of verification of funds, the Rolex Robber will text falsified images of a bank account sometimes from Chase, or Bank America, verifying funds.





Has also claimed to bank with Wells Fargo.

The phone numbers that he uses generally belong to TextNow, you may verify this by running the number through:
https://www.phonevalidator.com

and the emails are generally @protonmail.com or @proton.me

because both of these mediums are hard to trace. (He has also used Gmail.)

Once the Rolex Robber has the seller’s trust, he will propose meeting at a jeweler to have the watch authenticated, and generally mention that his bank is close by and that he will go with the seller to the bank to get a cashier’s check once the watch is checked. He sometimes mentions bank wire as a form of payment too.

Invariably this jeweler he picks for the authentication will be one without a guard or locking door, and typically on the lower end as far as what kind of jewelry or watches are sold there.

The robber who has shown up for at least the below two thefts:

2015 Platinum Day Date 40mm ref 228206 with ice blue index Motif dial
(Robbed in southern California – February 2023)
Theft described here:
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=892296

and a
18K Patek 5711 Nautilus (5711/1R-001)
Movement: 5888179/6061301
(Stolen in northern California – June 2023)
Theft described here:
https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...&postcount=242

was
African American, male, age estimated low 40s, about 5'9", long salt and pepper black dreadlocks hair, brown eyes, facial hair, slight to medium build.

and this is a picture of him:



although he has shown up much more shabbily dressed too, for example dressed in a tan ski jacket style vest, with worn tennis shoes.

The detectives working the case have a theory that the person who makes contact and talks on the phone to set up the meeting is different from the one who shows up to rob, but this is only a theory.

The Rolex Robber definitely does work with other African Americans who have been at the scene, to act as spotters and lookouts.

Here is an image captured of one of his spotters