The Gold-Brick Con: A Tacoma Contractor Swindled
A Slavonian contractor loses $550 to two men posing as subcontractors in an elaborate fake-deal scheme.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On the complaint of T. Bickup, a Slavonian contractor, who says he has been swindled out of $550, the police of Tacoma and Seattle are making an earnest search for two bunco men, 'John Doe' Hunt and F. H. Cameron, who are thought to be in Seattle. Bickup, who is also a Seattleite, came to Tacoma several days ago at the other men's request and made arrangements to handle a contract which the alleged swindlers said they were subletting to him. They produced plans and specifications, and made Bickup pay over $550 to insure good faith. After the money had been paid, the men disappeared, and Bickup found that he was the victim of a gold-brick game. Warrants are out for Hunt and Cameron.
“After the money had been paid the men disappeared, and Bickup found that he was the victim of a gold-brick game.”
Contractor scams and construction fraud remain a persistent issue in the Pacific Northwest’s booming development market. Bickup's experience mirrors modern-day white-collar crime where victims are enticed by the promise of lucrative subcontracts, a reminder of the vulnerability of small business owners.
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