‘Mike’ the grinch scamming people at Stafford Marketplace

NORTH STAFFORD — Someone hanging out at Stafford Marketplace thought he had landed a great job.

In the end, he was taken for a ride. A Stafford sheriff’s office spokeswoman says the victim allowed the suspect to write a check for $2,000 for supplies at a Lowes store at the North Stafford shopping center.

That check bounced, and so did the suspect.

The Stafford sheriff’s office says the crime happened in the 1200 block of Stafford Marketplace on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 12:40 p.m. The victim reports said a man named “Mike” walked up and asked him if he knew of anyone interested in a job.

The victim accepted a job as the suspect’s administrative assistant.

On the first day of the job on Tuesday, December 12, he met the suspect at Lowe’s, and they looked at supplies. The victim agreed to let the suspect cash a check for $2,000, allegedly to buy supplies, under the victim’s account, said Stafford sheriff’s office spokeswoman Amanda Vicinanzo.

After leaving the check cashing store, they returned to Lowe’s, and the suspect vanished.

The victim later learned the check had bounced, prompting him to contact the Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing.