Somehow there is always an unordinary event or weird circumstance taking place in the state of Florida. The next event involves a businessman who befriended another man whom he met via mutual friends, and a valuable coin collection.
As per the Palm Beach Post reported, Michael Johnson of North Palm Beach claims that his friend Shane Anthony Mele stole his collection of valuable coins that were passed down to him from his father as well as his own collection.
“He easily had $33,000 worth, and he dumped it in a Coin Star machine,” Johnson said.
Authorities said Mele, 40, of Riviera Beach confessed he stole rare coins and other items, valued at $350,000, from Johnson’s North Palm Beach office in December.
Mele reportedly said he sold some, then ran many through change machines, where he got just face value.
Johnson, who said he’s disabled and mostly not working, said Mele wiped him out of his life savings.
“I was using those coins to help stay alive,” he said.
Johnson mentions that he only left a couple of the coins out on his desk at work and did not make Mele aware of the collection he possessed. Mele stayed at Johnson’s business office from October to December after he told Johnson that he lost his wallet and needed help with a work project. Mele confessed to stealing the coins from the business office and claims that Johnson owed him.
North Palm Beach authorities found that there was an outstanding warrant for Mele’s arrest for a separate incident and they gained custody of Mele in Lake Worthy where he sold a part of the collection to South Florida Coins & Jewelry where he made $2330.
Johnson claims to have about 100,000 coins in 80 boxes that he has collected over time which were allegedly valued at $350,000. He provided surveillance evidence that shows Mele covering the cameras in the office the night the coins were stolen.
Johnson also mentioned that he placed the rest of the coin collection in a Coin Star that exchanges people loose change for a fee. Most fees for these type of machines can be as large as 11.9 percent. This was an immensely lower value for presidential coins which could go for $1000.
