Chris Miller is alleged to have ran an illegal shell game in Eastview Mall, along with 2 accomplices who would pretend to be shoppers.
Eastview Mall in Victor, New Jersey became a site illegal gambling, say the sheriff’s deputies who broke up the operation. What the people who were drawn into the con game did not know is the game was rigged.
Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero says at least four people were lured into making bets on the game’s outcome. But Povero describes the illegal operation as “a rigged criminal enterprise.” In everyday language, those arrested were running a shell game.
Played Games in the Food Court
All they needed was a table in the food court. Their only tools were 3 bottle caps and a ball the size of a pea. The man running the shell game would lure people into wagering. All they had to do was figure out which bottle cap the ball was under.
The game was rigged, though. Using sleight of hand, the man would remove the ball from the game. None of the three bottle caps was the right answer. The scam artists are known to have taken $800 from passers-by, though they’re suspected of collecting even more from unwitting victims.
Chris Miller and Two Accomplices
The ringleader was a local man named Chris Miller, who has been arrested for running a scam. Miller’s accomplices were Larry Cummings Jr. and Desiray Underwood. Cummings and Underwood would pretend to be Christmas shoppers who won big money at the game. Instead, they were part of the operation, pretending to win to make others believe the game was real.
Sheriff Peveto said, “The individuals clearly sell it as a way for someone to make some quick cash and who doesn’t need a few extra dollars during the holiday shopping season.”
Each Charged with 3 Crimes
The sheriff said it is a crime to run such games. All three have been arrested and charges with conspiracy, promoting gambling, and petty larceny. Peveto wants others who may have been suckered earlier to come forward, to help build the case.
The three are likely to be charged with additional crimes, due to a similar incident which happened earlier in the day. The sheriff explained why such laws exist. He said, “This is a con game which is designed to defraud people out of the money they’re wagering on what they believe to be a game of chance.”
How Common Are Shell Games in 2015?
Though one has to condemn the three for taking people’s money during holiday shopping excursions, one also has to admire their ability to lure people into such a game. The old-fashioned shell game seems too basic and tech-deficient to work. But in an age of smartphones and mobile games, four people were gulled by the scammers.
WHAM 13 News says the crime is more common than one would think. The New Jersey area television news station did an online search to see how common shell games are in 2015. The search quickly turned up discussions of similar con games in New York City, Venice Beach, London, and Copenhagen.
