Women posing as NBC employee arrested

DOWNEY - Detectives from the Downey Police Department arrested a woman Tuesday for allegedly posing as an NBC employee and trying to scam a small business owner.Police arrested the 51-year-old Downey woman, whose name was not released, during a sting operation at Downey Landing. The owner of a small graphics company in Los Angeles contacted Downey police to report that he believed his company had been the victim of fraud. The suspect had allegedly contacted his business and represented herself as an employee of NBC. She claimed one of her duties was to locate, and possibly contract with, small businesses to provide services for the television studio. The suspect requested "a substantial amount of money" from the victim to complete the hiring process, police said. Over several weeks, the suspect met with the victim at Downey Landing, where the victim handed over cash for the services. The victim later discovered that the suspect was not an NBC employee and that NBC had issued a warning against such incidents on its website. Downey detectives set up a sting operation at Downey Landing, where the suspect was arrested. Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of such a scam, or has information on the case, should contact Detective Chris Hansen at (562) 904-2330 or Sgt. Brian Baker at (562) 904-2304.

********** Published: October 30, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 28