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COLUMBIANA – A man from Erie, Pennsylvania, is charged in Columbiana County for his alleged involvement in a gold coin scam.<\/p>\n
According to an affidavit filed in the Columbiana County Municipal Court, a scammer posed as a federal agent and tricked a victim into giving him over $100,000 worth of gold coins.<\/p>\n
The affidavit states that the victim initially reported the scam in June, after being contacted by someone claiming to be \u201cBernardo Pillot\u201d from the U.S. Marshals.<\/p>\n
The victim told Columbiana police that they believed they were purchasing gold coins to give to \u201cPillot\u201d to \u201csecure their assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police say the victim purchased 15 gold coins for $69,555 on June 3 and gave them to a courier in person three days later.<\/p>\n
The victim then purchased 12 more gold coins for $54,810 on June 8 and gave them to a courier five days later, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n
The victim then realized this was a scam and reported it to police on June 22.<\/p>\n
Police say the victim remained in contact with \u201cPillot\u201d, telling him they were refinancing their home to get more coins, and sent a fake cashier\u2019s check for $84,400 and scheduled a pickup date of August 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cPillot\u201d allegedly told the victim to give the coins to someone named \u201cJerry\u201d in a white BMW.<\/p>\n
Police say the victim complied, and after \u201cJerry\u201d collected the package, he was stopped by undercover officers, who identified him as 30-year-old Vashist Gadela.<\/p>\n
Court records show Gadela is charged with a fourth-degree felony count of theft by deception, as well as a first-degree misdemeanor count of possessing criminal tools.<\/p>\n
Gadela pleaded not guilty to these charges, and his case has been bound over to the common pleas court.<\/p>\n
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