Groveland Twp. – A grieving father trying to pay his son’s debts was bilked out of $6,500.
A man claiming to be a Southfield, Mich. resident named Brandon Richardson responded to a magazine ad the father had placed in an attempt to sell the motorcycle purchased by his deceased son.
Richardson gave the seller an ‘official? Charter One check for $6,500 in exchange for a bill of sale and the title, which had not been signed over.
After depositing the check into his Citizens Bank account, the seller obtained a bank check to pay off his son’s motorcycle loan.
On July 22, the father was notified his account was overdrawn.
According to Michigan State Police Groveland Post reports, the company Traveller’s Express, which handles Charter One checks, traced the check number and found it had been duplicated; the actual check had cleared on Aug. 5, 2003 in the amount of $335.16.
The seller reported Richardson did not answer at the phone numbers he had given. His Southfield address was nonexistent.
Richardson is described as a black male in his mid-20s with short hair and a mustache, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds.
The stolen motorcycle is a yellow 2000 Honda CBR 900 with silver trim, with a vehicle identification number of JH2SC4408YM005170.
The motorcycle, along with Richardson’s name and several aliases, has been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system, and Michigan’s Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).