VIDEO/PHOTOS: A popular D.C. breakfast spot is sending a warning to other businesses after falling victim to a scam Saturday.
Pearl’s Bagels in Mount Vernon Triangle is out nearly a thousand dollars after a man claiming to be a fire equipment inspector stole from them. Oliver Cox, the owner of Pearl’s Bagels, told FOX 5 the scammer knew what he was doing.
It all happened pretty fast, according to Cox. It started when a man who introduced himself as Jim Stance walked into Pearl’s on Saturday.
"It was very elaborate. It was very conniving," Cox explained.
Surveillance video shows the scammer telling the manager at the store that he needed to inspect the ANSUL system, a fire prevention tool required in restaurants.
The scammer told the manager that the owner must have forgotten to tell her that he was coming, specifically using the owner’s name.