July 9
Forgery: A man in the 4300 block of 90th Avenue Southeast reported that someone had opened a small-business loan under his name. Beforehand, he had received a notification from Experian that there had been a credit inquiry from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The reporting party said that after reaching out to Experian, he did not receive any new information and was referred to SBA representatives.
Drug possession: A woman reported that she had found a needle along the sidewalk in the 7700 block of Southeast 27th Street. The needle, which was white, contained an unknown substance and was inside a grate-like container near a tree.
Car prowl: A woman reported that sometime within the last few weeks (the exact time frame is unknown), her car had been broken into. She last drove her vehicle about three weeks ago. The car has since been parked in her carport in the 4200 block of 83rd Avenue Southeast. She had left the car unlocked. When the victim went back to the vehicle July 9, she noticed that her glovebox was open and that its contents were spread out in the car’s interior. Her battery had drained as a result of the glovebox light remaining on for an extended period. Nothing appears to be missing.
July 8
More forgery: A man reported that he had joined a company called GTV Media Group, Inc. as an investor. He said that he was told by the suspect that the company was launching a video-sharing platform akin to YouTube. The victim entered a contract with the promise that he would receive company shares. He subsequently wired $500,000 for 500,000 shares to the suspect. The victim still has not received shares and can’t get in touch with the suspect. The FBI is investigating the matter; the suspect, who is characterized as a New York-based “billionaire,” is named Guo Wengui. After following up, Mercer Island police learned that several others have similarly wired large sums of money to receive shares at GTV. However, the FBI has confirmed that the suspect hasn’t been spending wired money on “frivolous things that would suggest he misrepresented what he was going to do for investors.” According to Guo, GTV is a media group that will be able to “hack the Chinese firewall” to contact Chinese citizens to unite and overturn the Chinese Communist Party. The FBI hasn’t found anything criminal about the investments but is continuing to investigate.
July 5
An additional forgery: A man reported that his mother had been the victim of phone and internet fraud that led her to send a $9,000 money order to scammers. The order was subsequently confiscated by the Baltimore Police Department and will be returned soon. The reporting party had previously filed a report through King County and additionally worked to get the FedEx package stopped.
July 2
Another forgery: A 16-year-old girl reported that she had been approached by a man in a Walgreens parking lot. She said he told her that his daughter had been in a car accident. He then asked the subject if she banked at Bank of America; the subject said that she did. The man convinced her to go into Bank of America and cash a $4,800 check written in the subject’s name. She cashed the check and handed the money to the man. The incident did not result in any financial loss on the part of the subject.
Theft: A woman in the 3000 block of 80th Avenue Southeast reported that a subject claiming to be an Amazon employee came to her door claiming that they needed to pay for a laptop ordered through Amazon. The imposter said the victim would have to pay for the laptop with NIKE gift cards because it had been confirmed that there had been fraudulent activity in her bank account. The victim ultimately lost $700.
July 1
Fraud: A man in the 6900 block of Southeast 33rd Street reported that between 8 a.m. June 30 and 3:44 p.m. July 1, his wife had had a credit card opened in her name. Two charges were made. The man was advised to have his wife contact one of the three major credit bureaus.
Theft: A man in the 2400 block of 66th Avenue Southeast reported that his road bike had been stolen out of his open garage. The theft occurred sometime between 11:00 a.m. and 5:12 p.m. There are no leads at this time.
Another theft: A man was contacted by police after video footage showed him stealing a $35 package containing baby supplies off a front porch in the 3400 block of 77th Place Southeast. After he was contacted, the suspect refused to cooperate. According to police, he ran around the premises and evaded detainment. Eventually, the subject was taken to Overlake for a mental health evaluation.
June 30
More forgery: A woman in the 4400 block of East Mercer Way reported that she had previously taken steps through unemployment to set up an email to avoid being a victim of unemployment fraud. She recently discovered that a fraudulent unemployment claim was filed in her name. The subject was advised of steps she could take to protect her identity.
Another car prowl: A woman reported that between 6 p.m. July 29 and 3:30 p.m. June 30, three cars in the 4200 block of West Mercer Way were broken into. All vehicles were rummaged through; nothing, however, was taken. There is no video surveillance documenting the incident.
June 27
More car prowling: A woman in the 7900 block of Sunset Highway reported that between 8:30 a.m. and 12:35 p.m., her vehicle had been broken into after its window had been shattered. About $50 worth of items — including a charger, a hairbrush and a work gown — had been stolen. There are currently no known suspects.
June 26
Even more forgery: A woman in the 2700 block of 72nd Avenue Southeast reported that she believed she had given her number to someone with a fake profile on a dating site. The woman said that the person did not try to scam money from her and that she soon blocked their number. The woman was advised to report the profile to the dating site.
