Police: Suspects Posed as Local Athletes in Magazine Scam
Raleigh police arrested seven people who they say posed as student-athletes with UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University in order to sell fraudulent magazine subscriptions.
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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.
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