TYLER (KYTX) - Police arrested two people Thursday after receiving several identical theft reports. The suspects are accused of scamming at least half-a-dozen East Texans out of their hard-earned cash.
It all started with a Craigslist ad that promised a whole iPad for half the price.
"Generally they're about $500 so I jumped on that," TJ Chapman said. "I emailed him and asked if he still had it."
Chapman responded to the ad and the seller told him it was still available. Chapman called the phone number the seller gave him.
"And the number he gave me was disconnected, oddly enough," Chapman said.
Despite the red flag, the seller convinced Chapman to meet him at the Bullard Creek apartment complex.
"He seemed like a cool guy," Chapman said.
Chapman and other victims told CBS 19 the seller brought a backpack to each meet, tied tightly shut.
"He had a pen to check to see if the money was counterfeit," Chapman said. "This was his whole ruse to get him to give me the money. And then he just bolted."
Chapman realized, instead of an iPad, the bag was hiding a cheap paper notebook.
"We're glad to get him off the street," Tyler Police Officer Don Martin said.
Martin said catching the thief was relatively easy; an under-cover officer just responded to the ad and set up a meet.
"And then the transaction went down, officers converged on the area, he saw that there were officers, started to run again, and then she, the officer grabbed on to him," Martin said.
25-year-old Anthony Falbo was charged with theft and resisting arrest. Police say his getaway driver was 25-year-old Kimberly Bowman. They were both in the Smith County jail as of Friday night.
Chapman's said he learned a lesson.
"If anyone else is on Craigslist looking for stuff, get them to show the item before," he said. "Do not hand them the money before you see that the product is actually there."
None of the people caught in this scam have gotten their money back. Tyler police said that will be up to the courts.
Anthony Joseph Falbo
Kimberly Ann Bowman
