Newport Beach : Police Warn of Phony Telephone Fund-Raiser
Police are warning residents not to give money to a phony telephone fund-raiser claiming to be a police officer.
In the past month, a number of businesses have been called by a man claiming to be a current or retired Newport Beach police officer and soliciting contributions to the Police Assn., Detective Douglas Parmentier said Tuesday.
The Newport Beach Police Assn. does not solicit money by telephone, Parmentier said.
Last year, Parmentier broke up a similar “boiler room” run out of a motel room in Anaheim. The caller, who claimed to be a police officer, solicited donations from all over Orange County and sent a courier to pick up the checks. Police caught the courier, who was prosecuted, but the man placing the telephone calls fled, the detective said.
Parmentier recommended that people who receive calls soliciting donations check with their local police or fire department before giving any money.
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