Police in Germany say they busted scammers suspected of selling fake Canadian “Maple Leaf” gold coins with the face of Queen Elizabeth II on them.
The alleged fraudsters are said to have conned buyers out of 80,000 euros ($85,910).
Cologne police headquarters in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the public prosecutor’s office said in a joint statement Monday: “After months of investigative work, Cologne investigators arrested three men (30, 31, 51) in Cologne-Ossendorf on Thursday afternoon (June 2) and seized 19 fake gold coins and several 100 euros in cash.”
Police have not revealed what the coins were made of.
The authorities added: “The suspects are accused of having sold ‘gold coins’, which are still official means of payment in Canada, several times since the beginning of the year via an Internet portal and having cheated buyers out of around 80,000 euros ($85,825).”