New Jersey scrap metal scam linked to Whitefish
A New Jersey man who ran a scrap metal scam out of a business purportedly based in Whitefish has been sentenced to federal prison.
Stephen Salvatore Intrieri, 30, of Mount Laurel, N.J., will served 30 months with three years of supervised release, and will pay $326,474 in restitution. He was senteced in February by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula.
The Whitefish Police Department initially recieved a complaint about Intrieri’s scam in 2012.
An official with a New Jersey scrap metal company said he received a call from salesman for Montana Metal Recyclers about purchasing scrap metal. The salesman went by the name Tony Giordano and was allegedly doing business from Whitefish. A deal was reached and the New Jersey company wired $19,000 to Montana Metal Recyclers.
An official with the New Jersey company told police he was cautious in his dealings, but the salesman’s knowledge of the scrap metal industry made him comfortable proceeding.
Yet, after he sent the money, the salesman could never be reached and the company never received the scrap metal it had purchased.
It wasn’t the first time the company had been scammed by Intrieri. An official with the company said Intrieri defrauded them out of $30,000 in 2009.
According to the court, it’s not uncommon for scammers to return to prior victims — a technique known as “reloading.” The scammer assures they want to redeem themselves by making it up to the victim with a second deal often more lucrative than the first.
Another of Intrieri’s victims contacted the Whitefish police — as well as the Secret Service in New York — to report that he paid Montana Metal Recyclers $95,000 for scrap metal he never received.
A Secret Service investigation later revealed Montana Metal Recyclers did not have a facility or office in Whitefish.
They traced some of the money paid to the recycling company to the purchase of a $37,510 engagement ring by Intrieri at a New Jersey jewelry store. The owner of the jewelry store confirmed Intrieri bought a 3-carat diamond engagement ring.
The second victim was Facebook friends with Intrieri and told one of the investigating agents that Intrieri proposed to his girlfriend and posted pictures of her wearing a large diamond ring. The owner of the jewelry store identified the ring in the photos as the one he sold to Intrieri.
Altogether, Intrieri received about $370,000 from the various victims of the scam. Investigating agents also found that Intrieri was affiliated with seven different businesses, at least four of which appeared to deal with scrap metal sales.