Murky Case of Fraud in Detroit Car Sale

Highlights of incidents reported to West Bloomfield police from May 3-Tuesday.

received a murky case of fraud after a 20-year-old West Bloomfield resident received far less than he thought he would in the sale of a car to a Detroit man on May 4.

The reporting person claimed her son met a man who was interested in purchasing her 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix worth $6,600. According to West Bloomfield Police Lt. Tim Diamond,  the meeting occurred in the area of Seven Mile Road and I-75 . After the buyer took a test drive, Diamond said, he gave the reporting person’s son $1,500 and a Rolex watch. The confused seller was then driven to another man’s house in Southfield and the buyer kept the car.

Misdemeanor attempt at false pretenses

West Bloomfield Police made arrests May 4 in a case of fraud as two men tried to pass off  nickel as gold.

DeAndre Laster and Timothy Cunningham were charged with a misdemeanor attempt at false pretenses of less than $1,000 after police were dispatched to . The men, both of Saginaw, were attempting to sell nickel bangle bracelets to Tapper’s gold exchange after attempting the same scheme at the Tapper’s outlet in Bay City the previous day. Diamond said that a storewide memorandum was put out after Tapper’s did a test to determine that the bracelets were not gold as claimed. The duo will  be arraigned at the 48th District Court.