Faribault Woman Charged with Selling Phony Gold Coins to Burnsville Dealer

A Faribault woman has been charged with selling phony gold coins to a Burnsville gold dealer, swindling the company out of more than $8,000.

Alicia Ann Mansfield, 19, is charged with theft by swindle, a felony with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to the unnamed gold dealership on April 17 to investigate a transaction involving counterfeit coins.

One of the company’s employees had paid Mansfield $8,250 for what the employee believed were 50 gold Krugerrand coins, the complaint charges. A Krugerrand is a South African coin first minted in 1967 to help market the country's gold.

Mansfield sold the coins in three separate transactions on April 16, the employee told police. During the first transaction, Mansfield sold 20 Krugerrands for $165 apiece, then “quickly returned” to the store and sold 10 more of the coins, again for $165 apiece, the complaint says.

Mansfield returned a third time and sold 20 more Krugerrands for $165 each, according to the complaint. Another employee inspected the Krugerrands later and determined that they were phony.

The store employee contacted Mansfield, told her the coins were counterfeit and asked her to return the money. Mansfield denied knowing that the coins were phony and said she couldn’t return the money because she’d used it to buy a car, according to the complaint.

Police contacted Mansfield, who told them that she received $8,250 for the coins and that she knew they were counterfeit, the complaint charges. She told police that she sold the coins because she needed the money, and that she split the proceeds with her supplier and used her share to buy baby products, according to the complaint.

Mansfield is scheduled to make a first appearance on the charge July 30 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.