MARINETTE, Wis. (WFRV) – Several hundred dollars were lost after an employee at a Marinette County gas station received a call from a scammer posing as the business owner.
According to the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office, at around 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, an employee of the Eagle Express/George Webb gas station received a call from an individual he believed to be the owner of the business.
The alleged owner told the employee that he needed to check the expiration date on the fire extinguishers. He then told the employee there would be a delivery coming, and the owner had to pay 25% of the $14,000 bill.
The alleged owner told the employee to get $3,500 in cash ready, and he would come pick it up. However, the employee did not have access to that amount of money at the business.
Ultimately, the owner told the employee to break into the restaurant portion of the building, an office, and a safe to obtain the money.
The alleged owner told the employee to drive to Green Bay and deposit the money into a Bitcoin machine. After two and a half hour conversation with the alleged owner, he continued giving instructions on entering the cash into the Bitcoin machine.
A citizen discovered the abandoned gas station with the smashed glass door and called local law enforcement. The key holder was able to contact the employee immediately and stop his actions after just under $1,000 had been deposited in the Bitcoin machine.
The legitimate business owner is of middle eastern origin, and the caller had a middle eastern accent. The employee had previously met the owner and legitimately believed he was speaking to the owner.
The phone numbers utilized by the suspect are 5-233-2507-5993 (Mexico) and 715-300-7439.
Anyone with information that could help lead to the arrests of individuals is asked to contact the Marinette County Sheriff’s Office.
No additional details were provided.
