MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A caller convinced a gas station employee to steal hundreds of dollars from an adjoining restaurant by posing as the business’s owner, Marinette County sheriff’s officials say.
According to investigators, the employee of Eagle Express/George Webb received the call around 2 a.m. Thursday. The caller told the employee he needed to check the expiration date on the fire extinguishers. He then told the employee to expect a delivery, and that the owner needed to pay 25% of the $14,000 bill for the delivery.
The caller told the employee to have $3,500 in cash ready for him to pick up. When the employee explained that he did not have access to that amount of money, the caller told him to break into a safe in an office in the restaurant portion of the building to get the cash.
The caller then instructed the employee to drive to Green Bay and deposit the money into a Bitcoin machine.
Meanwhile, a passerby discovered the abandoned gas station with the smashed glass door and called law enforcement. The actual owner of the business was able to contact the employee — but not before the employee deposited $900 into the Bitcoin machine.
The employee, who was on the phone with the original caller for 2 1/2 hours, believed he was speaking with the legitimate owner, whom he had met before.
The phone numbers used by the caller were 52 33 2507 5993 (from Mexico) and (715) 300-7439.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective William Swanson at bill.swanson@marinettecountywi.gov or (715) 732-7638.
