re: the Gold Coin Scam

A heartless con artist preyed on the financial fears of an Upper East Side mom and daughter, stealing $430,000 in a gold-coin scam, authorities said yesterday.

Stephanie Brown, 44, convinced the victims that banks and mutual funds were going belly up — and their only hope was to buy overvalued gold coins from her, prosecutors said.

“Fortunately, Stephanie Brown was there to save the day,” Manhattan prosecutor Adam Kaufmann said sarcastically.

Brown allegedly convinced the women, ages 83 and 56, to invest their life savings, just over $1 million, in her gold coins.

But she allegedly failed to alert them that the gold market and gold-coin prices are not always equal.

For example, while gold is now close to an all-time high, gold coins — which are often made with alloys — are depressed.

I would bet that you’ll be hearing a lot more of this kind of thing.  People buying these coins have absolutely no concept of how misled they’ve been in a lot of cases.

UPDATED! Jeff Reeves of Investor Place put this piece on 5 common coin scams under my nose, definitely worth checking out:

5 Sleazy Gold Coin Scams (Investor Place)

Source:

430-G Coin Scam Golden Fleece (NYP)