Fraud-personal assistant scam

At approximately 5:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, an officer was dispatched for a fraud case. The victim told the communication center that he had been scammed into thinking he had a part-time job and was requesting contact via telephone. 

The victim told the officer he had fallen victim to a scam, which began on Feb. 2, with an email from an individual named Andrew Robert to his personal Gmail account. Robert had offered the victim a part time job as his personal assistant.

Robert told the victim that he was out of the country and would need him to complete some tasks for him. These tasks included making certain purchases and donations for him. Robert then told the victim he would be compensated with a cashier’s check along with a $550 weekly allowance.  

Robert emailed him two fraudulent cashier’s checks. The victim then attempted to deposit the checks, but his bank did not clear the checks.

Robert then instructed the victim to send him $1,000 using Apple Pay or Zelle for donations to a charity. The victim attempted to transfer the funds, but the transactions were denied.  

Robert then instructed the victim to purchase a series of gift cards and text messaged him the receipts and gift card codes. These included one $500 gift card purchased from CVS Pharmacy, one $500 gift card purchased from Walgreens and four $100 gift cards purchased from Walmart.

The victim would eventually become suspicious of Robert due to the checks he deposited not clearing. He would then ask Robert to provide him with more information including a business card. The victim subsequently cut off communications with Robert once he realized he had been scammed.

The officer attempted to contact and follow up Robert’s email and phone number, but he could

not find any specific information regarding Robert’s email address. Attempts to contact Robert via telephone were also unsuccessful.

The officer would then meet with the victim at the police department. The victim revealed that he ended up losing a total of $1,400 as a result of the scam. 

The officer then answered the victims questions and provided him a victim information packet.   

Road hazard

At approximately 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, an officer was dispatched to the intersection of University Drive and Clairemont Ave. in response to a road hazard.  

The communications center said a passerby reported a large metal coil in the roadway.

Upon arrival, the officer located and removed the metal coil from the roadway, disposing it in the proper container. 

The investigation did not involve the use of a body camera due to the lack of evidentiary value.

Expired registration

At approximately 5:57 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, an officer was performing active patrol along the 500 block of Clairemont Avenue.  The officer observed a white sedan traveling in front of them displaying a red registration tag of January 2023.

An examination of the vehicle’s registration confirmed it was expired.

The officer subsequently initiated a traffic stop on this vehicle, making contact with the driver and registered owner. The driver indicated he didn’t know the registration had expired and was able to provide the officer with valid current insurance.

The driver was clear to drive with no wants and was not on probation.

The officer would then prepare a citation for violating Wisconsin law regarding non registration of auto. The citation has a non mandatory court date and came with a $175.30 fine with zero points assessed on their drivers license.  

After issuing the citation, the officer would answer the driver’s questions and return to their squad car. 

Teske can be reached at [email protected].