Police Bulletin Police Bulletin (October 21, 2005)

Victim loses $46,000 in e-Bay scam

Thinking he was purchasing a 2003 Land Rover Range Rover, a local man wired $46,075 to a man in Long Branch, New Jersey Oct. 1. As of Oct. 13, the victim had not received the car and the suspect, only known as "Issac," will not return his calls.

The victim first got in touch with the suspect through the online auction Web site, e-Bay, when he saw the vehicle on sale, police said. Instead of going through the site, the victim chose to contact the seller directly and purchase the vehicle through him. The suspect said he worked for CSI Motor Group and faxed the victim a contract with that company name on the header, according to the victim. The victim wired the money from his Patelco Credit Union account in Pleasanton into the suspect's Bank of America account, police said. The suspect said he would send the vehicle once the money had been wired, but claimed a delay in the process because he was observing a Jewish holiday. When the victim called on Oct. 3, the suspect said he would fax the shipping documents once he was back in his office, which the victim never received. Now, when the victim calls the suspect, he only gets the suspect's voicemail and the calls do not get returned. Police are investigating the case. Man enters innocent plea in pimping case

Hayward resident Marcos Daniel Grimal, 32, pleaded innocent Monday, Oct. 17 to charges that he slept with two 15-year-old Pleasanton girls and forced them to prostitute themselves. Grimal and his co-defendant, Oakland resident Richard Parquet Jr., 26, met the girls through a party phone line in July. Parquet also pleaded innocent to felony charges of unlawful sexual intercourse. Both men are currently free on $250,000 bail.

The two men picked up the girls, who were running away from home in July, and took them to a Motel 6 in Livermore where they allegedly had sex with one of the minors and gave her marijuana and alcohol. Nude pictures of the girls were found in the motel room. The men then allegedly pimped one of the girls to get money for food and motels. Parquet and Grimal are scheduled to return to court Nov. 16 for a pretrial hearing.

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