Scammer posing as fire equipment inspector steals nearly 1K from DC bagel shop

WASHINGTON - 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.

The staff put the owner, Oliver Cox, on the phone with the scammer, but the owner never talked to the staff about what they said.

Oliver Cox, owner of Pearl's Bagels

The manager gave the man $970 in cash.

Oliver says the scammer took advantage of a busy restaurant and a slick miscommunication.

"She thought I told her it was ok," Cox recalled. "But really, he told her, that’s what I said, so it was a little bit of Jedi Mind Trick on that one, I think. Because she texted me ‘I paid him cash like you said,’ and I said I didn’t say to pay him cash and she said ‘oh no, he said, you said that.'"

The scammer had fake invoices with a company, Metro Fire Prevention, that purported to have a D.C. address which is non-existent.

The big tell there was the address doesn’t have a quadrant listed. 

There are at least six other incidents up and down the East Coast where this exact same situation played out. Based on news reports, it's happened in Pittsburgh, across New Jersey, New York City, and in the suburbs of Connecticut. Each time, the scammer claims to be a fire inspector, often using a fake company name: Metro Fire Prevention. It has not been determined whether the same guy is behind each of the thefts. 

After FOX 5's story aired Sunday, Oliver Hazen, the owner of Bagel Boss in New York City reached out and said this exact same thing happened to his store early last month. He's convinced it’s the same guy based on the fake invoices, the hat, and the scheme.

Oliver Hazen, owner of Bagel Boss

"I think that it’s all tied together somehow," Hazen said. "I’m not sure if it’s the same person per se. In this circumstance, with this store in D.C. and the store in Manhattan, I think it was the same person there."

D.C. police is now investigating, and asking anyone who can identify this individual or has knowledge of this incident to reach out to them. There is currently a reward of up to $1,000 for anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person responsible for the crime committed at Pearl's.