Tosa Paint Store Manager Falls Victim to Old Scam

It was a case of the classic con.

The dupe. The swindle. The grift.

On Tuesday, police were called to the paint store at 12132 W. Capitol Dr. on a complaint from the store manager that on March 12 a customer had pulled a quick change on him.

It began in the usual fashion. A customer came to the counter to buy an inexpensive item, in this instance worth $1.59. He presented the manager a $50 bill, and the manager counted out $48 and change.

Then, with that cash still on the counter, the customer seemed to change his mind, pulling out two singles and asking for his $50 bill back.

As the store manager started to reverse the original transaction, the customer suddenly asked if he could change a $100 bill, asking for 10 $10 bills. The manager said he didn’t have enough 10s and asked if five 20s would do. The customer agreed.

The manager told police that he counted out that cash and handed it over, but in a moment became concerned that something about the exchange didn’t seem right. He told the customer to wait while he counted his cash drawer to make sure he would come out even.

But the customer turned and left the store, apparently satisfied that his business there was done.

Indeed, it was. The store manager told police that when he finished reconciling his cash receipts, he found himself $150 short.

He said he now believes that he was distracted by the request for change for $100 and forgot to pick up the change for the $50 that he had first given the man, and that then must have had “tens” on his mind and counted out that many 20s.

By the time he realized he had been conned, the grifter was long gone.

The manager described the man to police as a black male, 160 to 170 pounds, 5-feet-10-inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes and a medium brown complexion. At the time, he was wearing a New York Yankees hat and had shoulder-length hair.