Instead of paying job seekers, teen takes from them

In this poor economy, many are looking for work. One Royal Oak teen decided that it would be easier to steal from job seekers than stand in the unemployment line with them. The 17-year-old has been accused of posting a fake ad on Craigslist seeking an administrative assistant. In no time at all, he received some inquiries.

After finding an interested job seeker, Westley Robert-Thomas Johnson informed him or her that a fee of $50 would be required to conduct a background check and that interviews would be conducted that day. Little did the job seekers know, Johnson was pocketing the money.

Police from Royal Oak and Warren worked together to catch the scammer, and he was charged with larceny by false pretense and larceny by false personation. The charges are basically different forms of theft, in which the victim is tricked into freely handing over the loot. A pretrial will be held on July 22 at the 44^th District Court in Royal Oak.

Sources:

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20100630/NEWS20/100630008/Police++Job+seekers+out++50+in+alleged+scam+by+teen+