SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — A Sacramento car enthusiast was in his vehicle outside the Shun Fat Supermarket on Land Park Drive in South Sacramento about a week ago when something in the parking lot caught his eye...
He says he saw a van pull up to an elderly man before a person exited the vehicle and presented jewelry to the elderly man. That's when the car enthusiast, who goes by Sancho, pulled out his phone and started recording as he confronted them.
"It just clicked in, you know? I saw the old guy kind of struggling like he didn't want (the jewelry), he didn't want the attention of them trying to sell him some stuff," Sancho told ABC10.
The van carrying at least three people drove away as Sancho walked up to the elderly man holding what appeared to be a gold chain in his hand.
"If they were doing something good, they wouldn't have brushed me off," Sancho said of the apparent jewelry peddlers.
Sacramento County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Sgt. Amar Gandhi says schemes involving the use of fraudulent jewelry come in a variety of forms.
While some potential swindlers use fake jewelry to distract victims while robbing them of their authentic jewelry, others offer fake jewelry as a religious symbol —then demand payment when victims accept the fake jewelry.
Deceiving people out of their money using tricks and distractions is often referred to as a "sleight of hand" robbery.
"(Swindlers) will just go from region to region and shopping center to shopping center running this scam," Gandhi told ABC10. "There were a few in Stockton, so now they're kind of trickling their way up."
A similar jewelry theft scam was uncovered by Folsom police in Dec. 2022. At least one of the women alleged to be involved was arrested on identity theft-related charges.
Sancho says he believes the suspected thieves target areas like the Shun Fat Supermarket because the vulnerable elderly people who shop in the area.
He told ABC10 the situation he witnessed reminded him of the crimes in San Francisco highlighted during the start of the Stop Asian Hate movement in 2021.
"I just wanted to make sure that the old guy was OK and that he wasn't going to get robbed or beat up," said Sancho. "We all need to step it up and watch out for each other."
