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3:18 p.m. • 5-23-12

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Police: Suspects Posed as Local Athletes in Magazine Scam


Heather Austin
Heather Austin
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Raleigh police arrested seven people who they say posed as student-athletes with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University to sell fraudulent magazine subscriptions.

The seven suspects collected about $1,000 from residents of Wakefield neighborhood in northeast Raleigh, according to arrest warrants filed at the Wake County Magistrate's Office.

The suspects said they were raising money for trips by the N.C. State baseball team and UNC softball team, according to court records.

According to the complaints, people claiming to be company representatives pose as athletes at area colleges and attempt to sell magazines to fund trips for college athletic teams.

Police arrested Thomas Duane Fuller, 21, of Phoenix, Ariz.;  Heather Renae Austin, 18, of Minerva, Ohio; Damion Ellijah Balok, 25, of Belleview, Fla.; Dustin Blount, 18, of Doylestown, Ohio; Denver C. Hensel, 21, of Raleigh; Chris McKim, 21, of Raleigh; and Jennifer Dobbs, 20, of Surprise, AZ.

Six of the seven are charged with one count of obtaining property by false pretense and are each being held under $10,000 bond.

Fuller faces an additional charge of obtaining property by false pretense and is being held under a $20,000 bond.

All seven suspects were still in the Wake County jail as of Sunday evening.

RELATED TOPICS: Wake County, UNC-Chapel Hill, Raleigh, NC State University, Blount Street, Wakefield Plantation


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I had a young man approach me at Crabtree Valley Mall a few weeks ago offering up the same story about being from UNC and trying to raise money for the school and win a trip or something but I don't see his pic here. For some reason I allowed him to talk me into listening to him for a few minutes. When I told him I wasn't going to buy anything he continued to try and pressure me. It got so bad I ended the conversation by calling him something I can't say here and then I reported him to mall police. I guess they didn't think it important enough to follow up on because I saw him and his partner there the next day. He did say that he does this in malls up and down the east coast.

If you have been scammed or know someone that has been scammed regarding this specific incident please contact the Raleigh Police Department at 919-890-3335.

The more people that come forward will ensure that our District Attorney has a clear case of fraud charges to pursue and a restituion plan for the victims.

Apparently my family got scammed by Heather this weekend...

Toolbags..

spazman - you are so right. How many times have you ordered something from these kids and you never received it. Hell as I child I know for a fact this was a well known prank. We all knew someone pulling this prank at different times during the year. We lived near the base and cheerleaders would say they were fundraising for uniforms and football players and other athletes would represent their sport... Guess I need to apologize to all the folks that ordered candy and other items from us and we choose to eat or use the items rather than distribute them. OMG I remember when my girlfriend actually tried to sell some items back to the folks that ordered them in the first place....at a higher price...Sorry folks brings up real good memories. This has been a prank forever.

I don't like strangers either. But 2 Halloweens ago I had cooked breakfast and burned the biscuits and that is what I gave out instead of halloween candy. Kids don't come to my house anymore.

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