Crime & Safety

Craigslist Ad for Painter Alleged Whitewash Job

West Des Moines police say victim was repeatedly asked to make wire transfers.

A West Des Moines man says he is out nearly $2,000 after he answered a Craigslist ad seeking a painter.

The victim has been trying to untangle the mess since the end of last year, according to a March 8 report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department.

That’s when he answered the ad to paint a two-bedroom apartment for $600.

However, when the payment arrived on Jan. 2, it was for $1,950.45. He was instructed to keep $600 and then send the balance to an individual the suspect described as his landlord, an individual living in Alabama.

The victim told police that as he had been instructed, he deposited the check in his bank account, then withdrew it and wired $1,350.45 to the Alabama landlord.

He then received another check for $1,950.45 from the suspect, who claimed his landlord needed more money before the paint job could be started. The victim told police he took the check to his credit union and attempted to deposit it, but was informed that both checks were fraudulent and that he needed to pay back to the original $1,950.45 from the first check.

The credit union had reportedly taken the money remaining in the victim’s account and from his mother’s account as a down payment on the amount owed, according to Officer Matt McCarty’s report.


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