OREGON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — An 85-year-old Lapeer County man lost nearly $25,000 that he took out in cash involving a Bitcoin scam. With his daughter's quick thinking and help from a bank teller, he got it all back.
Andrew Robinson has lived a full life and is enjoying retirement after working over three decades at General Motors in Flint. However, some of that enjoyment got taken away from him Oct. 17. Robinson of Oregon Township received an email congratulating him about his Bitcoin purchase. Robinson didn't even know what Bitcoin was.
“I’m not all that great with all these modern things," Robinson said.
In confusion, he called the number in the email to inform them he hadn't made the purchase. The man on the phone said if he didn’t want the Bitcoin, he was going to have to give all $24,500 worth of the Bitcoin back.
The scammer got aggressive over the phone and remained on the line with him as he took out the cash at a ChoiceOne Bank.
The same day he took out the money, a man stopped by his home to collect it. Just as that was happening, Robinson's daughter, Lynne Markiewicz stopped by for a visit.
"While the scammer was in the driveway, Andrew's daughter happened to pull up in the driveway behind him and sensing something was amiss with the situation, she memorized this guy's license plate," Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Robert Wells said.
Robinson did not want to report the incident, but the bank teller felt something about the withdrawal was suspicious and reached out to the sheriff's office the next day. Deputies then visited Robinson and received additional information from Markiewicz.
With the license plate information, they were able to track down the suspect to the border of Detroit and Hamtramck near Joseph Campau Avenue and Carpenter Avenue.
The Lapeer County Sheriff's Office coordinated with the Detroit Police Department and got a search warrant for the suspect's home.
"Met them down there at the house and executed the search warrant and recovered the $24,500," Wells said. "All of it."
Wells says in his entire career, he has only been involved in one case where a scammed victim got all of their money back and this was it.
"Once that money's gone, it's gone. Generally, this was sort of a needle in a haystack type case," Wells said.
Now, Robinson wants to share his story to help others protect themselves from these types of scams.
“Maybe somebody will take notice and be a little more careful. I know I am," he said.
Wells says the man in his 20s that was tracked down could be related to multiple scams across the state and part of a much larger operation. The sheriff's office is continuing to investigate the came.
Wells says to protect yourself, don't give out any personal information to people you do not know, watch out for unsolicited phone calls or emails and call police if anything feels suspicious.
