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5-05-2025 12:06am
Police Log: Resident Loses $20K in Cryptocurrency Scam and Other Stories
Darlene Cancell
Editor
The news described in this installment of Westwood Minute's weekly Police Log article series is primarily based on selected incidents from the Westwood Police Department's daily log, and information provided by Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and police staff through written records and conversations. Occasionally, Westwood Minute may weave a few facts that it obtains from other sources into these stories.
Monday, April 28th
Trespassed for Shoplifting
2:17 p.m. Police were dispatched to Ulta Beauty on University Avenue regarding a report of shoplifting. The suspect, a 31 year-old woman from Norwood, is believed to be a repeat offender. In this case, she was observed concealing a white bottle in her purse. She then made a purchase of another item and began to leave the store.
Upon confrontation, the suspect was found to possess a bottle of hair mask cream in her purse, worth about $19. She returned the item to the store and was notified that she was being trespassed from the store. Police charged the woman with one count of shoplifting.
Sunday, April 27th
Police Arrest Repeat Shoplifting Offender
3:18 p.m. Police responded to the Target store on University Avenue where they were advised that a female suspect had attempted to take a cartful of items without paying.
The woman, a 63 year-old from Needham Heights, admitted to police that she had tried to walk out with merchandise because she did not have money to make the purchases. She was arrested and charged with three counts of shoplifting, second offense, related to the instant case and prior cases of shoplifting from the same store. The woman is believed to have taken merchandise worth approximately $1,500 over three separate incidents of shoplifting.
Tire Thieves
3:22 p.m. Police received a report of tires being stolen by three males at the Prime Acura dealership on Providence Highway. No further information is available as this report was not yet completed at the time Westwood Minute spoke with Westwood Police.
10:48 p.m. Police received a report of an individual removing tires from the Prime Acura dealership on Providence Highway. Police responded and found nothing amiss.
Saturday, April 26th
Police Determine Evidence Doesn’t Support the Claim
1:51 p.m. A resident of Marlborough complained to police that while picking up his Porsche from being serviced at a dealership on Providence Highway, he saw an employee retrieving his car and drive aggressively toward him, causing him to jump aside. The complainant noted that before this incident, he had called the business a number of times to pick up his car and each time had been delayed. He had felt frustrated. When the employee retrieved his vehicle, the employee reportedly told the complainant that his business was no longer welcome. The complainant told police he felt threatened by what he described as the employee’s aggressive driving.
Police review of video footage did not find evidence to support the claim of aggressive driving. Police observed that the car pulled in quickly next to the complainant, who had his back to the car. No charges were filed.
Friday, April 25th
Teenagers Doing Donuts
10:32 p.m. Police responded to Station Drive after receiving a complaint of cars doing “donuts” in the parking lot. Upon arrival at 101 Station Drive, police found four cars in the upper parking lot. The drivers were aged 16 and 17 year-old residents of Westwood, Dedham, and Canton. While one juvenile claimed to have just arrived and not to have seen anything, a second juvenile pointed to one of the cars – an Audi A4 – and told police, “That car.” Police contacted the teenagers’ parents.
Thursday, April 24th
Locker Room Theft
7:14 a.m. Police received a complaint regarding a locker room theft from Life Time health club and fitness center on Harvard Street. The complainant told police that the theft occurred while he was in the shower. He had arrived at gym at 6:30 a.m. and found his keys, wallet, clothes, and bag were missing from his locker by 7:00 a.m. Following the incident, the complainant cancelled this debit and credit cards.
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Arrest for Shoplifting, Third Offense
12:03 p.m. Police responded to the Target store on University Avenue where an asset protection staff person informed police that a female had tried to exit the store with a cart of items worth $420, without making payment. The suspect, a resident of Mattapan, had taken garage and hardware items valued at $219, sporting goods valued at $149, and a number of health and beauty and home good items. She was arrested for shoplifting, third offense.
Cryptocurrency Scam Robs Resident of $20,000
5:56 p.m. A resident of Pheasant Hill Street reported the loss of $20,000 through a cryptocurrency scam. The resident informed police that on April 15th, he was contacted by text by a person named “Karena-Jo” regarding a part-time job opportunity with Paramount Pictures. He was instructed to begin communicating via the WhatsApp social media service. He was connected with a party who instructed him to create an account to make daily deposits as a condition of work, and the funds would be returned to him along with payment for his work.
Over four days, the resident deposited $100 in order to gain work in rating films. Subsequently, he agreed to transfer $20,000 in cryptocurrency, because he was told the larger collateral he offered, the more he would be paid.
The victim received instructions to convert his money to Bitcoin and send the Bitcoin to a crypto wallet, which he did on April 19th. After sending the funds, he proceeded to rate films, and was presented with a “Lucky Oiler task.” He was asked to deposit another $18,000 in order to receive the return of his $20,000 plus a bonus.
The resident approached members of this family for assistance with obtaining the additional funds. They alerted him to the fact that he was being scammed. He then made the report to the police.
Wednesday, April 23rd
Providing Security for Karen Read Trial
7:15 a.m. Westwood Police received a call from Dedham Police for assistance with providing security during the Karen Read trial. Westwood Police provided officer(s) from its bicycle unit to enforce a 500 foot buffer zone outside Norfolk County Courthouse. The assistance was provided without incident.
Motor Vehicle Break-Ins on Phillips Brooks Road
6:03 p.m. and 6:28 p.m. Police received two reports of two cars being broken into on Phillips Brooks Road. It appeared that someone had entered the cars, and had gone through the consoles and glove compartments. However, in both cases, nothing appeared to have been taken.
The later report was made after the second victim learned of the first vehicle break-in from a neighbor. Upon investigation, the second victim discovered the second vehicle break-in. The second vehicle was a car which the victim described as not often used.
Tuesday, April 22nd
Fraudulent Check Written after Being Stolen from Mailbox
2:21 p.m. A resident of Westfield Street reported having a check in the amount of $3,237 stolen, which was deposited in a mail box at a post office in Needham. The check had the resident’s social security number written on it, as it was a payment to the Internal Revenue Service.
The resident was contacted by his bank, which informed him that an attempt to cash his check was made by a “Jordan Kennedy” at an unknown location. It was successfully cashed.
The check was then possibly washed, as a second attempt was made to cash the check by a “Carla” in New York. The second attempt was unsuccessful.
The resident was able to be reimbursed by his bank.
Thanks to Lieutenant Michael DiLalla and the Westwood Police Department for contributing information for this Westwood Minute article.
