A rare anime trading card reported stolen in a $30,000 scam was recovered at a trading card convention at the San Mateo Event Center on Sunday, Oct. 25, after a vendor recognized it from a Facebook warning, San Mateo police said.
How it was spotted
Police responded at 10:56 a.m. after event security detained a man who had tried to sell the card to a vendor, Patch reported. The vendor had seen the card in a collectors' Facebook group post warning that it was stolen.
The July deal in Garden Grove
The victim told investigators he agreed to sell the card in Garden Grove in July for $30,000. He handed it over after getting what he thought was the full cash payment. The buyer left with the card, and the victim later found he had received only a few hundred dollars. He filed a report with Garden Grove police and posted the warning online.
The arrest
Police identified the man as Constantin Nitescu, 44, of Washington state, and said he first gave officers a false identity. He was booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of grand theft, possession of stolen property, theft by false pretenses and giving false identification to law enforcement. Police said he also had three outstanding warrants.
Investigators said he had earlier tried to sell the same card in Las Vegas and at another card show in Santa Clara County but left before officers arrived. Patch reported he is also under investigation in a similar case in Marina. The card was recovered.
Note: Complex, citing KRON4, described the call as Monday; Patch's account from San Mateo police says Sunday, which we use here.