rare coin investment scam busted

A couple in Miami were living the high life in their $3.5 million dollar home, purchased with money they got from unsuspecting victims. Their lawyer claims they are innocent, and the Mayor of Golden Beach has offered to be a character witness and put up bail for their release.

The purported scam was that the couple put advertisements for gold coins in several Christian magazines at exorbitant prices. Individuals unaware of their actual value bought them for investment purposes, only to discover much later that they had been swindled. The couple also targeted the elderly and those with IRAs, convincing them to pay excessive amounts for large numismatic investments. A woman spent all of her $250,000 life savings on $40,000 worth of coins and another man lost $360,000 to the couple, but was too embarrassed to sue.

Another unhappy customer by the name of Kenneth Viall decided to do something about it. He created a web site to warn people of the fraudulent activities of the DeAngelis couple.

The lesson I take from this is to verify the worth of any significant purchase before signing on the dotted line.