MAKKAH – A Saudi man in his 30s who allegedly abused his father's reputation as a former senior government official and conned SR45 million out of 15 people, was arrested by Qassim Police on Monday and charged with writing 200 fraudulent checks. Spokesman for Makkah Police Lt. Col. Abdul Mohsin Al-Maiman said the man made his victims believe that he was an exclusive agent for a renowned global smart phone company. He claimed he was able to procure high-technology smart phones for very low prices and sell them to customers before distributing profits to shareholders. Many of his targets trusted him and decided to do business with him, it was alleged. They gave him their money to invest and in return he gave them bad checks, Al-Maiman said. He also allegedly told some of his victims that he was a car dealer and had strong business relations with several well-known car companies and that he could procure new cars for 60 percent less than their usual retail prices. He told his victims that if they wanted such cars, they should pay him the cost in advance and wait for three months to get their vehicles, police said. He allegedly used his father's office located in Makkah's Al-Awali neighborhood to meet his targets and write them the bad checks, belonging to four local banks. He was arrested by Qassim Police 48 hours after he was reported to Makkah police, who sent his information to all police stations around the Kingdom. Wasim Nahas, one of the shareholders, decided to report him to police after a check bounced and the man disappeared and switched off his cell phone. He was surprised to learn that he was not the only victim. Al-Maiman said the Saudi man wrote these bad checks around 10 months ago. He was referred to the Makkah Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution.
