Collingdale Police Search For Man Claiming To Sell Solid Bars Of Silver That Are Actually Fakes
By Pat Ciarrocchi
COLLINGDALE, Pa. (CBS) – Police in Collingdale are trying to get an alleged scam artist off of the street.
Investigators say he claims to be selling solid bars of silver, when they are actually fakes.
Police say he scammed a local pawn shop owner of thousands.
The silvery bars look impressive, pouring out of a bucket in Brian Oblon's pawn shop in Darby, Delaware County. But in this case, all that glitters is not silver.
Collingdale Borough Police Chief Bob Adams says, "It looks authentic and turns out to be counterfeit and fake."
And for Oblon, the discovery came $7,400 too late.
Oblon wishes he had known this man, identified by authorities as Nicholas Conchewski of Clayton, New Jersey, when he came into his shop a month ago, allegedly selling silver.
"He knows what he had. He knows what he's doing," says Oblon.
Police say it's a classic con. The bars that were offered for testing were silver, but the suspect switches the package of the real silver with fake silver bars.
"They're supposed to be one ounce, fine silver 999. What he did was he pulled a switch, put up the fake ones, pulled back his real ones and proceeded to sell them to us."
Eight hundred and sixty ounces of silver, a lucrative investment, if real.
Police say they believe Conchewski purchased the fakes through a website in China. He name allegedly pops up as a satisfied customer.
Chief Adams says, "He was very calm, very cool. I believe his criminal records show several theft by deception arrests, so this is probably the life he has chosen to earn an income, by bilking hard working people out of their money, who trusted him."
Oblon tells Eyewitness News that last week Conchewski allegedly tried to pawn off fake silver as the real thing at Oblon's Bucks County store, but he ran off when confronted.
Oblon says he does not want others to suffer a financial hardship.
Collingdale Police say they are on the case.
