Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fraudster impersonated California Highway Patrol officer

Elderly San Diego couple were targets of a scam

It was a warm, pleasant morning in San Diego, about 11 a.m. last October, when Peggy got an upsetting phone call.

The man on the phone said he was Sergeant Perry with the California Highway Patrol. The sergeant told Peggy that her grandson had been in a traffic collision and he was being held in custody because his car insurance was lapsed. The sergeant put her grandson on the phone just briefly, but he was crying so much that Peggy couldn’t really communicate with her grandson.

The sergeant told Peggy that she should send money via Western Union to the owner of the other vehicle, and then her grandson could be released with no police record. Peggy was given an address in New York, to which she was instructed to send $2,400.

Peggy’s husband Norman helpfully went to a Western Union office to send the money the same day, October 23, 2012. But there were difficulties completing the transaction, so husband Norman returned home. The elderly couple was able to call back Sergeant Perry because his telephone number was captured in their “caller ID.”

Sergeant Perry then directed Norman to send the money through a nearby Walmart, using a service called “MoneyGram.” The husband went to a Walmart on Murphy Canyon Road and arranged the money transfer. But two hours later, Sergeant Perry phoned again and said there was a problem with the vehicle owner getting the money because of “an identification issue.” The Sergeant told Norman to call a certain telephone number to instruct a person there to “release” the money.

About this time, husband Norman got the idea to phone his grandson’s wife. She told grandpa Norman that his grandson was safe at home. Norman immediately went to Walmart and cancelled the money transfer and got his money refunded to him.

A genuine California Highway Patrol officer, named Jason Shelter, is investigating the attempted fraud. Officer Jason Shelter, who has been with the CHP since 2000, requested a search warrant to track the MoneyGram transaction and obtain security video surveillance at the transaction locations, to learn the identity of the fraudster.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Sim von Kalinowski signed the search warrant order December 18, 2012.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/09/38131/

Image: Investigator Jason Shelter said a fraudster impersonated a CHP officer. Photo Nick Morris.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

It was a warm, pleasant morning in San Diego, about 11 a.m. last October, when Peggy got an upsetting phone call.

The man on the phone said he was Sergeant Perry with the California Highway Patrol. The sergeant told Peggy that her grandson had been in a traffic collision and he was being held in custody because his car insurance was lapsed. The sergeant put her grandson on the phone just briefly, but he was crying so much that Peggy couldn’t really communicate with her grandson.

The sergeant told Peggy that she should send money via Western Union to the owner of the other vehicle, and then her grandson could be released with no police record. Peggy was given an address in New York, to which she was instructed to send $2,400.

Peggy’s husband Norman helpfully went to a Western Union office to send the money the same day, October 23, 2012. But there were difficulties completing the transaction, so husband Norman returned home. The elderly couple was able to call back Sergeant Perry because his telephone number was captured in their “caller ID.”

Sergeant Perry then directed Norman to send the money through a nearby Walmart, using a service called “MoneyGram.” The husband went to a Walmart on Murphy Canyon Road and arranged the money transfer. But two hours later, Sergeant Perry phoned again and said there was a problem with the vehicle owner getting the money because of “an identification issue.” The Sergeant told Norman to call a certain telephone number to instruct a person there to “release” the money.

About this time, husband Norman got the idea to phone his grandson’s wife. She told grandpa Norman that his grandson was safe at home. Norman immediately went to Walmart and cancelled the money transfer and got his money refunded to him.

A genuine California Highway Patrol officer, named Jason Shelter, is investigating the attempted fraud. Officer Jason Shelter, who has been with the CHP since 2000, requested a search warrant to track the MoneyGram transaction and obtain security video surveillance at the transaction locations, to learn the identity of the fraudster.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Sim von Kalinowski signed the search warrant order December 18, 2012.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/09/38131/

Image: Investigator Jason Shelter said a fraudster impersonated a CHP officer. Photo Nick Morris.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.