Thursday, February 7, 2002
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 24-year-old Youngstown State University student was tricked into giving up $325 to two men he met in the Union Square Plaza, city police reports show.
The man told police he was approached by a man in his 50s saying he was from Jamaica and needing help. The man said he had $25,000, revealed a wad of money and told the student he would give him $800 for help. A second man, in his 40s, approached and told the first he should put his money in a bank, where he could retrieve it with a MAC card at an automated teller machine.
The second man then asked the student to show the first man how to use a MAC card. The student drove the men to a MAC machine at the plaza and withdrew $325. The first man then asked if he could store the $25,000 in the car's trunk with the $325 while he went to the bus station to get bags.
They wrapped the cash in a bandanna and placed it in the trunk, then asked for the student's address so they could retrieve the money. When the student arrived home, he discovered that there was no money in the bandanna, only shredded paper.