stevenhyde
08-27-09, 23:29
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1205710.html (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1205710.html)
Fort Lauderdale police lure suspects with fake stimulus cash offer
By DAVID SMILEY
dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com
They flocked by the dozens to the War Memorial Auditorium, lured by promises of fat stimulus checks. What they got was something else entirely.
In total, more than 100 qualified recipients scheduled appointments last week to see officials with the South Florida Stimulus Coalition in the hopes of a quick buck from a company with the slogan, ``Helping jump start our economy.''
But instead, they found Fort Lauderdale police officers. And instead of a stimulus check, they were handcuffed and led off to jail.
Police announced the results Thursday of the two-day sting targeting Fort Lauderdale residents with outstanding warrants: 76 arrests of fugitives wanted for offenses ranging from grand theft to fraud to attempted murder.
``We're always looking for creative ways to conduct operations and reduce crime,'' said police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa from inside the War Memorial Auditorium, where South Florida Stimulus Coalition banners hung next to company business cards.
Sousa said ``Operation Show Me The Money'' worked like this: Police searched through a Broward Sheriff's Office list of wanted Fort Lauderdale residents and sent out letters offering a sum of money from the fake organization to those who called a phone line and set up an appointment.
Those who arrived Wednesday and Thursday to collect checked in, took a seat and later were led to a second room after their identities were confirmed. Sousa would not describe exactly what happened from there on, but the appointments ended in police custody for those who had outstanding warrants.
Five were released due to medical conditions, and another two dozen or so ``lucky'' recipients didn't show for their appointments, Sousa said. One or two were released and informed of the sting after they were found to be in the clear.
Sousa said the sting saved countless man hours and allowed police to make arrests in an environment they controlled, as opposed to knocking on doors in various neighborhoods.
``The beauty of this is they chose to come here,'' he said. ``They chose the date and time.''
A Fort Lauderdale resident who would only give his first name, Rob, arrived late Thursday for his ``stimulus check'' and was released after police realized he did not have an outstanding warrant.
Afterward, the 21-year-old was fuming that the letter he said claimed he would receive $653 was bogus.
``I knew it was something shaky, but I was like, `What do I have to lose?' '' he said.
Such reverse scams are fairly common, said Joe Pollini, a retired New York City lieutenant commander who is now deputy chairman of the Law and Police Science Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
Pollini said police often advertise welfare packages, lottery money, tax dollars –– anything that appears official enough to convince criminals that the scam is legit.
``Sometimes you've got to play their game,'' he said. ``To be a good police officer, sometimes you have to think like a criminal.''
Sousa said Thursday that the department may try something similar in the future.
``I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people here chuckling,'' he said, ``saying this was a great idea.''
Fort Lauderdale police lure suspects with fake stimulus cash offer
By DAVID SMILEY
dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com
They flocked by the dozens to the War Memorial Auditorium, lured by promises of fat stimulus checks. What they got was something else entirely.
In total, more than 100 qualified recipients scheduled appointments last week to see officials with the South Florida Stimulus Coalition in the hopes of a quick buck from a company with the slogan, ``Helping jump start our economy.''
But instead, they found Fort Lauderdale police officers. And instead of a stimulus check, they were handcuffed and led off to jail.
Police announced the results Thursday of the two-day sting targeting Fort Lauderdale residents with outstanding warrants: 76 arrests of fugitives wanted for offenses ranging from grand theft to fraud to attempted murder.
``We're always looking for creative ways to conduct operations and reduce crime,'' said police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa from inside the War Memorial Auditorium, where South Florida Stimulus Coalition banners hung next to company business cards.
Sousa said ``Operation Show Me The Money'' worked like this: Police searched through a Broward Sheriff's Office list of wanted Fort Lauderdale residents and sent out letters offering a sum of money from the fake organization to those who called a phone line and set up an appointment.
Those who arrived Wednesday and Thursday to collect checked in, took a seat and later were led to a second room after their identities were confirmed. Sousa would not describe exactly what happened from there on, but the appointments ended in police custody for those who had outstanding warrants.
Five were released due to medical conditions, and another two dozen or so ``lucky'' recipients didn't show for their appointments, Sousa said. One or two were released and informed of the sting after they were found to be in the clear.
Sousa said the sting saved countless man hours and allowed police to make arrests in an environment they controlled, as opposed to knocking on doors in various neighborhoods.
``The beauty of this is they chose to come here,'' he said. ``They chose the date and time.''
A Fort Lauderdale resident who would only give his first name, Rob, arrived late Thursday for his ``stimulus check'' and was released after police realized he did not have an outstanding warrant.
Afterward, the 21-year-old was fuming that the letter he said claimed he would receive $653 was bogus.
``I knew it was something shaky, but I was like, `What do I have to lose?' '' he said.
Such reverse scams are fairly common, said Joe Pollini, a retired New York City lieutenant commander who is now deputy chairman of the Law and Police Science Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
Pollini said police often advertise welfare packages, lottery money, tax dollars –– anything that appears official enough to convince criminals that the scam is legit.
``Sometimes you've got to play their game,'' he said. ``To be a good police officer, sometimes you have to think like a criminal.''
Sousa said Thursday that the department may try something similar in the future.
``I'm sure there's going to be a lot of people here chuckling,'' he said, ``saying this was a great idea.''