I've heard of bank cheque fraud aswell Any good photocopier Or Purchase a BC 1 day , cancel it the next day& tell the bank you lost it
I'm talking out of complete ignorance here as I don't know what standard practice is when dealing in amounts like this - maybe bank cheques are the norm .... but if it was me selling 1 kilo of gold, I'd damn well want to have the bank cheque banked and see the numbers appear in my bank account before I handed over the bar to somebody I don't know! And there are things about this story that are totally baffling... ... like somebody passing a fraudulent cheque in a transaction where they HAVE to provide ID - did they actually think they WOULDN'T get caught? ... and if you were trying to score that much gold, why would you get a single kilo bar that is impossible to sell easily - why not get 30 one ounce bars ????? ... and having succeeded in obtaining a kilo of gold in Collins st, why on earth would you go BACK TO THE SAME STREET to try and sell it the following day ?????
I guess the main points for us kibitzers here are: 1. There is a third-party risk for metals as well. Imagine another link in the chain - you buying last from that dealer. It would be cops at your door then and you being left holding the bag. Have fun while recovering 50+K from that dealer or Tarneit guy. 2. How to mitigate that risk: a. Don't buy bulk from anyone, apart from the mint, unless you can 100% vouch for the goods origin (prior customer or like). b. Buy from reputable dealers. That means registered business, tax invoice at a minimum, or signed bill of sale. Check terms and conditions. c. When buying from the individuals, sign bill of sale where the seller vouches for the goods being obtained non-fraudulently, are genuine (non-counterfeit) and they will reimburse you if that is not the case. Ask to see original proof how the goods were obtained. d. Keep records of who you sold to. I suppose there is a reason for premiums after all, apart from profit maximisation
This was in The Age Friday, it's interesting the gold bar was stolen and recovered later at a nearby business also on Collins st in which the manager of that business has also been arrested. .
Gee that Age article is a perfect example why I don't bother much with newspapers any more. It's just a slight re-hash of the vic police article, but they still manage to screw up even the main order of events. I mean their article says the guy "escaped with the one-kilogram gold bar" - like it was left lying around in the shop and he just popped it into his pocket and did a runner! At least the courier mail dug up more details - and they aren't even in the same state.
Why 1 kilo? Do it like the pros where the gold is. "The Perth Mint Swindle is the popular name of a robbery of 68 kg of gold bars at the Perth Mint in Western Australia on 22 June 1982. According to police at the time, three brothers, Ray, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, orchestrated the swindle. The three went to trial and were found guilty of the conspiracy and sentenced in 1983 to twenty, sixteen and twelve years in jail respectively. All three convictions were overturned in 2004. To date the case remains unsolved and continues to be fought by the Mickelbergs who maintain their innocence and allege a conspiracy by the Western Australia Police to frame them. Soon after the robbery police investigations focused on the Mickelberg brothers. According to the police, the brothers stole cheques from a Perth building society and then fooled the mint into accepting those cheques in exchange for gold bullion, which it was alleged, the brothers had a courier pick up. The gold was picked up by a security company who delivered it to an office in Perth and then to Jandakot Airport, from where it seemingly disappeared. In a separate matter, in September 1982 the three brothers, their parents and another man Brian Pozzi were charged over a swindle relating to a manufactured gold nugget known as the "Yellow Rose of Texas".[1] Perth Businessman Alan Bond had purchased the nugget for $350,000 in November 1980. It was later found to be worth less than $150,000 and Raymond Mickelberg and Brian Pozzi pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to fraud at their June 1984 trial. After serving nine months of his jail term and having his conviction overturned on appeal, Brian was released from jail but died in a light airplane air crash on 27 February 1986 when the twin-engine plane he was flying ran out of fuel on the outskirts of Perth.[2] Whilst in prison, Ray and Peter embarked on a series of seven appeals against their convictions, essentially on the grounds that their confessions had been fabricated by police investigators. Ray and Peter served eight and six years of their sentences respectively before being released on parole. In a bizarre twist, in 1989, 55 kg of gold pellets, presumed to have been from the swindle, were found outside the gates of TVW-7 (currently Channel Seven Perth), a Perth television station, with a note addressed to one of the station's reporters - Alison Fan, protesting the Mickelberg's innocence and claiming that a prominent Perth businessman was behind the swindle.[3] In 2002, midway through a State Royal Commission into police corruption, a retired police officer who had been at the centre of the case and who was present at the interviews with the Mickelbergs, Tony Lewandowski, made a confession of his involvement in fabricating evidence which was used to help frame the brothers. He was subsequently charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, making false statements, fabricating evidence and perjury.[4] In May 2004, just before facing trial, Lewandowski committed suicide.[5] Lewandowski's senior officer during the investigation and the other person who had been present at the brothers' interviews was Detective Sergeant Don Hancock who was later promoted to head of the State Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). Through Lewandowski's confession, Hancock was directly implicated in fabricating evidence in the Mickelberg case.[6] In September 2001 in an apparently unrelated issue, Hancock was murdered after a car bomb planted under his car exploded outside his home in Rivervale, killing him and a friend Lou Lewis. In July 2004 the Western Australian Court of Criminal Appeal quashed the brothers' convictions after seven unsuccessful attempts. The judge ruled that with the suppression of their sentence, they were entitled to a presumption of innocence. The Assistant Police Commissioner, Mel Hay, expressed disappointment with the decision which prompted a threat of a defamation lawsuit from the brothers. The brothers subsequently sued the Western Australian government for libel, and as part of the settlement, the West Australian police issued a public apology in December 2007.[7] After lodging claims for compensation, in January 2008 State Attorney-General Jim McGinty offered $500,000 in ex-gratia payments to each brother for the "injustice done to them".[8] The payment followed $658,672 paid to cover legal costs of their two appeals. The Mickelbergs' lawyer had asked for $950,000 in compensation for Ray and $750,000 for Peter.[9]"
Perth Mint gold bars stolen from new owner ALANA BUCKLEY-CARR, The West Australian March 4, 2011, 4 Gold bullion from the Perth Mint has been caught up in a $1.9 million Canadian fraud investigation after dozens of gold bars were stolen from a Montreal company. Seventy-five bars, each weighing 10 ounces and having a combined value of almost $1 million, were part of a purchase with a fraudulently obtained bank draft for $CAD1.9 million ($1.92 million). The Canadian Bankers Association is offering a $CAD50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the bars, bearing the Perth Mint's symbol on the front and kangaroos on the back. Just one of the bars has been recovered to date. The fraudulent bank note was used to buy the bars some time between February 9 and February 11. On February 14, there was an attempt to sell them in Toronto. Perth Mint chief executive Ed Harbuz said the investigation had nothing to do with the Perth Mint. He said the bars had been provided to a North American client and somewhere down the distribution line, someone had been defrauded. The Toronto Sun reported yesterday the bank draft was stolen from a Montreal financial institution last month. Det. Ruth Moran, of Toronto Police's financial crimes unit, said she could not be sure whether organised crime was behind the fraud. "It's very sophisticated," she said. "It's not easy to steal the draft, deposit it and use the money." Two Toronto men, Thevarajah Thambipillai, 55, and Senthuran Kanapathipillai, 32, have been charged with possession of property obtained by crime.
That reminds me of this one... much bigger but didn't quite work out.... http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...om-crooks-grasp/2006/07/21/1153166591340.html Gold bars just a whisker from crooks' grasp July 22, 2006 IT WAS to be the Great Gold Heist - 605 kilograms of bullion worth $14 million. But first, the fraudsters had to "steal" the 13-storey Australian Rugby House to bankroll their brazen crime. They forged title deeds, falsely claiming ownership of 181 Miller Street, North Sydney, the headquarters of the Australian Rugby Union, and secured a $14.4 million mortgage cheque, which was sent straight to a gold dealer. The bullion, 605 one-kilogram gold bars, was flown from Perth to Sydney and was awaiting delivery. The heist came within a whisker of succeeding. But at the last minute, the Perth Mint and Brinks security smelled a rat and called the police.
So just like here in the states, the police arrest and ask questions later. Here if it's embarrassing enough they continue prosecuting an innocent, even fabricating evidence if necessary. Anything to keep themselves from looking the fool. Happens everyday here...SMH
Alright here's the story for those who don't know already I have permission from the man that was charged . Peter Davis was charged with Knowingly purchasing stolen goods :lol: After 3 attempts to bring the charges in front of a judde . The idiot of a cop couldn't provide any evidence Charges were dropped with costs awarded . The idiot who sold him the " STOLEN BAR " was doing 6 months for the fraud Escaped jail with 2/3 weeks left to do . And yes he was caught a few days later So the moral of the story Don't believe what you read in the paper . Peter's mother was concerned after reading it the Herald Sun . But as Peter says If its in the Herald Sun - its BS If the story is in the age - it could be true If the story is in the Australian - its probabily true.
