They passed “Go” and collected way more than $200.
A gang of fraudsters has carried out three separate scams in England that all involve paying for watches, jewelry and diamonds with Monopoly money, the Bristol Post reports. In one scam, the article explains, a jeweler selling merchandise at a Bristol hotel agreed to sell $600,000 in diamonds to a customer, whereby the diamonds would be transferred from his nearby shop to the client upon receipt of payment. The client gave bundles of 100 euro notes to the jeweler, who used a cash-counting machine that didn’t detect any problems with the money. It’s speculated, however, that when the jeweler put the cash-counting machine away, the client somehow switched out the euros with Monopoly money, and the jeweler didn’t notice until after the diamonds had already been transferred from his shop to the swindlers.
"You can imagine the horror when he goes to check the cash,” David Hughes, the prosecuting attorney for the jeweler, told the Bristol Post. "It is immediately apparent it is not the same that he had counted in the hotel. It’s counterfeit. At some point during that fatal turnaround to put that cash-counting machine away, the real money has been switched, the fake money has been substituted and the criminals had disappeared with the diamonds."
At least three men have admitted to helping execute the crime, the article adds, while another has been accused but denies involvement.
Read more at the Bristol Post
Advertisement
Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success
After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone.
Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently.
The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.
