A sting operation made possible when a man contacted authorities has halted what state officials are calling an investment scam involving a $50,000 cashier's checks.
Jorge Alejandro, 45, is in the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of securities and communications fraud after his arrest Monday.Utah Division of Securities officials said they were contacted last week by tire store owner Cary Self, who was approached by a man who wanted him to invest money to provide security for a gold shipment from the Philippines.
He said he was shown a $50,000 cashier's check drawn on Central Dominion Trust and was told that if he invested $30,000, the $50,000 check would be placed in escrow and given to him after 30 days.
Feeling the deal was too good to be true, Self went to state officials, and Federal Reserve Bank officials confirmed that Central Dominion Trust didn't exist. A sting operation was established Monday with a state investigator posing as an investor, and Alejandro was arrested.
"Unfortunately, we've seen similar phony investment schemes involving millions of dollars in off-shore gold deals," said Mark Griffin, division director. "People invest their money, thinking they are going to get rich quick, and they are left with nothing," he said.