A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently buying nearly $200,000 worth of gold coins with bad checks and claiming that they were later stolen before selling a number of them to pawn shops in Rhode Island.
William Dawson, 52, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
According to federal officials, Dawson said he bought and resold property when he arranged with someone who operated a business cleaning out homes belonging to decedent estates and helping sell things from the homes.
In December 2022, Dawson agreed to buy 120 Queen Elizabeth II Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins that were found during a home cleanout, officials said. The 170 total coins that were found in the Massachusetts home were valued at about $290,000.
With approval from the estate, the individual operating the home cleanout business agreed to sell some of the coins to Dawson, according to officials. Dawson in January 2023 gave the individual two checks worth a total of $198,000 during a meeting in Millbury, Massachusetts.
According to federal officials, Dawson had “significantly less” than that in his bank account. Later in the day, he falsely said someone had broken into his car and stolen the coins, officials said.
Dawson a day later traveled to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and sold 43 of the coins at a pawn shop for just over $80,000, according to federal officials. On several occasions in February 2023, he traveled to a pawn shop in Cranston, Rhode Island, and sold 19 more of the gold coins in exchange for a total of about $35,000.
Dawson was charged in the scheme in October. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, when he faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
