In what sounds like a plot straight out of a low-budget heist movie, Devin Elliot and Robert Elliot III allegedly bought $300k worth of bling at the Carolina Palace Mall using fake money. Nothing screams trustworthy like flashing counterfeit cash at a jewelry store, right?
And now, they have been arrested and facing the law.
The suspects, identified as Devin Elliott and Robert Elliott III, were arrested in Mississippi after allegedly tricking a jewelry store owner into accepting counterfeit money.
Chris Swecker, a former Assistant Director of the FBI Investigative Division, commented on the scheme, saying, “It’s a fairly creative scheme and it’s hard to pull off.”
According to the indictment, the suspects used a stack of real cash to convince a store worker at Solitaire Jewelry to hold $300,000 worth of jewelry.
They returned the next day, had the worker count $10,000 in real bills, and then used sleight of hand to swap in fake bills.
Prosecutors claim the suspects successfully executed this scheme 30 times, walking away with high-end items, including a $90,000 diamond watch and a $32,000 link chain.
The indictment describes how the suspects posed with stacks of cash on Instagram, possibly as a way to flaunt their ill-gotten gains.
An employee at the jewelry store expressed relief at the arrests but could not provide further details about the theft.
The arrests mark a significant step in addressing the counterfeit operation, with investigators continuing to piece together how the scheme was executed and how the stolen jewelry was fenced.
If you’re going to try to scam a jewelry store, maybe start with the Monopoly game set first. But hey, at least the Elliot brothers have opened our eyes when it comes to buying $300k in jewelry, cash is king or at least real cash.
