Man charged after nearly stealing $100,000 from Lincoln man in elaborate scam, police say

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A man was charged after nearly stealing $100,000 as part of a scam, Lincoln Police said.

Police were called to a belated fraud on Friday. According to LPD, a man reported that he received an email informing him that he was charged $1,000 from his PayPal account on June 3. The man called the phone number on the email to report the transaction as fraudulent, since he did not have a PayPal account.

The suspect convinced the man that they refunded him $100,000 instead of $1,000 and the man was told he needed to return the money with gold to avoid having to pay taxes. The man purchased $98,308 in gold with a cashier’s check at Lincoln Coin and Bullion. A man arrived at his home to pick up the gold.

The suspect then told the man that he owed another $100,000 due to a co