Con Artists Bilk Winchester Woman

Investigators were looking for con artists who scammed a Winchester resident for $900.

One of the con men called the victim on June 18 saying he was interested in buying property she owns in California Pines for $900, according to sheriff's Deputy Brian Chaffin.

The suspect said his name was Robert Hayes, though he refused to give up more personal details, Chaffin wrote in an affidavit in support of a search warrant.

"Hayes told her he represented a company who purchases land across the nation," Chaffin wrote. "When (the victim) asked Hayes the name of his company, he would not tell her."

The suspect told the victim to buy a Green Dot MoneyPak card for $900. The victim refused, and said she did not feel comfortable talking to the suspect because he refused to tell her the name of his company.

Nonetheless, she went to in Temecula and bought the card.

"A Green Dot MoneyPak card is like a credit card. A lot of the major retail stores sell them," Chaffin wrote. "To purchase a Green Dot Money Pak card, a person would go into the retail store and give the clerk cash for whatever dollar amount they want to place on the card.

"When the card holder wants to use the card, they scratch off the coded part on the back of the card and give the secret number to the sale clerk. You can also use the card over the telephone. You give someone the secret number from your card, and that person can go to any retail store that has Green Dot Money Pak cards, and they can place your money onto their card," Chaffin explained.

Another suspect, a man who called himself Tray Richards and said he was Hayes' business partner, called the victim later that day. He asked the victim for her card's secret code, but she refused to give it to him.

The man called back two days later, said he was still interested in her property and again asked for the secret code. Again, the victim refused.

Another man, calling himself Charles Wellington, called the victim later that evening saying he was with another company, called "First America Title Company," according to Chaffin.

This suspect gave the victim a business license number and a federal license number.

He also asked for the secret number from the victim's Green Dot card, but promised not to use it until the victim signed the paperwork, which he said he would send the next day via FedEx.

So, she gave him the secret code. "(The victim) stated she did not research the license numbers, but she felt comfortable talking with Wellington," Chaffin reported.

The victim never got the paperwork, so she checked her card, and the money was gone. She tried to call Wellington back, but nobody answered the phone, Chaffin wrote.

The investigation in ongoing. Anybody with information about this incident was asked to call 951-696-3000.