Out-of-state magazine salespeople posed as University cheerleaders and club baseball players and persuaded some Portland area residents to donate money to athletic teams and charities this week, police and residents said.
Police have contacted at least four suspects related to the scam, and residents have reported complaints to authorities in West Linn, Oregon City and Lake Oswego. Officials don’t know how widespread the scam is or how much money the scammers pocketed.
West Linn police responded to reports of suspicious men who claimed to be University of Oregon and Portland Community College varsity and club baseball players Tuesday and were asking for donations. PCC and the University don’t field varsity teams, but the University does have a club team.
The West Linn Police Department booked Jeremiah Conner, 20, of Grandview, Mo., into the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of second-degree theft, and he was released, Sgt. Neil Hennelly said. Police also cited Thomas Ray Kintigh, 22, of Edwardsville, Mich., for not having a business license. He was released.
Lake Oswego police responded to reports of two women posing as University and Lakeridge High School cheerleaders Wednesday. Police charged Amanda Wheatley, 18, of Newark, Ohio, and Tasha Mitchell, 19, of Warsaw, Ind., with second-degree theft, Capt. Michael Hammons said. Both women were still lodged at Clackamas County Jail Thursday.
Hammons said he wasn’t sure how many victims have been targeted.
“As this news comes out, we may have more people coming out,” he said.
Hennelly said West Linn police have received about 200 calls related to the scam as of Thursday afternoon.
Those arrested were from a magazine sales group, Quality Sale Inc., based in Georgia. Sales people travel the country together in a van selling magazines, authorities said. It’s unknown if the magazine sales were legitimate, and the group was last seen driving north, likely to Seattle.
The scammers were persuasive, Portland area residents said.
A clean-cut, college-age man in a red windbreaker knocked on the front door of Ken Jensen’s West Hills home Tuesday evening in Portland. The man, who presented himself as a University club baseball team player, said his name was Brady Harmon and that he was the son of a neighborhood pediatrician. The man said money would be donated to a charity, and said he was raising money for fellow baseball players who couldn’t afford to play in a tournament in Hawaii.
Southwest Portland residents said the scammers told victims that if a $120 donation were made, $106 would go to the University club baseball team, and $14 would go to “Periodicals and Publications Connection,” which would donate books to a charity.
“They get you on the emotional level by reporting to be local, by being from the neighborhood,” Jensen said. “Then they make the charity connection, which tugs on your heart strings. You think you’re doing a good deed for the University of Oregon.”
Jensen said he got suspicious when his wife said she had never heard of the man’s last name, and the couple couldn’t find the pediatrician’s name in the phone book.
“At that point, the red flags really went up,” Jensen said.
After he searched the Internet for the Periodicals and Publications Connection and found that others had been scammed, he called his bank to cancel the check.
Fellow West Hills resident and self-proclaimed baseball fan Rich Williams, whose daughter graduated from the University, said the man talked him into donating $120. The man even said he would help with yard work in the future.
“Part of his persuasiveness is that he was a smooth talker,” Williams said. “He seemed to be a college age guy who wasn’t used to going door-to-door and didn’t particularly like to do it.”
Neither resident had contacted police by Thursday morning, but Williams said he plans on reporting the incident to the attorney general.
Hennelly said no task force will likely investigate the incident because the West Linn suspects most likely stole less than $750 in that area. If they stole more than $750, Hennelly explained, their charges would become a felony.
Meanwhile, the University club baseball team has been responding to e-mails and phone calls from concerned Portland area residents.
University senior Jonathan Jwayad, coordinator for the club baseball team, worked with the Athletic Department to contact Portland media outlets and raise public awareness about the scam.
“I think we did a good job of responding immediately and separating the criminals from the baseball team,” he said.
Club baseball doesn’t go door-to-door to sell magazines and will typically write letters to businesses, family members and University alumni to raise money, Jwayad said.
“It seems to be more professional, and seems to be less tedious,” he said.
Sandy Vaughn, club sports director, said fundraising efforts for club sports usually include bake sales, car washes, tournaments and game clean-ups. Club sports received $302,000 in incidental fees this year and raised $380,000 last year in fundraisers to help pay for uniforms and travel costs.
University cheerleading coach Laraine Raish said cheerleading is fully funded by the Athletic Department but said the team raises money during non-athletic game appearances to help pay for competitions. She said the team never asks for donations door-to-door.
Hennelly said residents should never invite door-to-door salespeople into their home because they could lie about their background. He recommended asking specific questions.
“We asked one guy what PCC campus he went to,” Hennelly said. “He said he went to the ‘math campus.’”
If something sounds suspicious, Hennelly said that residents should decline to purchase any products.
“Say no thanks, and close your door,” Hennelly said. “It’s better to be cynical and safe.”
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