UNVEILING A COIN THIEF

HOW NGC AND INVESTIGATORS EXPOSED A MOTHER-SON DUO

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Catching a thief or two involved a Dahlonega Mint 1845-D Liberty $5 gold coin worth almost $15,000 (retail) and the discovery of a mother-son duo connected to lost or stolen rare coin and bullion shipments with losses totaling over $500,000.

UNCOVERING THE CRIMINAL OPERATION

From Beaumont, Texas, the mother-son pair orchestrated a sophisticated scheme involving the theft and resale of valuable coins. Universal Coin & Bullion (UniversalCoin.com), led by Michael Fuljenz, fell victim and took decisive action. He filed reports with law enforcement agencies, including the USPS Office of Inspector General, listed the coins as ‘stolen or missing,’ and reported them to the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC) where Doug Davis ensured they went into the database.

“Had it not been for Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), former Texas Police Chief Doug Davis of the NCIC and Oz Fong, an investigator with the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, we may have never discovered what was happening,” says Fuljenz.

A COIN’S CLUES LEAD THE WAY 

Post office representatives repeatedly assured him that Universal Coin & Bullion packages were being stolen after leaving their distribution facility. However, Fuljenz — who grew up watching TV sleuth series like Columbo, Dragnet, and