A beloved watchmaker is being scammed

I don’t see how you can stay out of it and live with yourself. But I’m also not sure how you can get involved without it coming back to bite you in the ass.

I might have tried to get a better look at the OMEGA he offered to sell you, and if you were certain that it was a counterfeit watch then you could have checked the price, to see if they knew they were selling a fake and priced it accordingly, or if they were really trying to scam someone to pass off a fake at genuine OMEGA prices.Then maybe set up a dinner date with the old watchmaker and his wife to discuss. After meeting them, if their livelihood depends on partnering with these thugs then maybe you have to respect their wishes and stay out of it if that’s what they want. But if they are genuinely afraid of these guys running the shop I would probably report it.

Reporting to the authorities may not result in anything except for the old man losing his livelihood if these guys bail on him, and it might be difficult to find a victim who overpaid thinking they got a genuine OMEGA. If you bought a fake OMEGA and then reported it then there’s no way for you to stay out of it and you might have a target on your back.

I reckon the old woman is in on it as well???😕 She's probably had enough??? ...60 years of the old man coming to bed with a 'fakkin' loupe!

Wow. Dennis The Menace says stay out of it? Ironic. I would heed this advice.

Maybe things are different in the US but here in Europe it wouldn’t be strange to track down the shop owner and visit him to ask after his health and welfare.

Guys, are we writing a little bit of a movie here?.... I mean a few posts more and the guy is kidnapped and tied to a chair in his kitchen

As I said before. You think you see something , report your suspicions to the cops, they can walk buy and just inquire about things without even badging them. That’s all you need to do to have your conscience straight. The cops are not going to arrest anyone or send the SWAT team to the shop, they’ll just check it out, if they think there something there to check out.

But we are now under the strong assumption that these guys are bruisers performing a hostile takeover of a legit business and using it as a front for fraud while keeping the old lady there for.... what?

Just put on the TV and let the professionals do the screenwriting.

Was this one of the guys?

But??? Wouldn't his wife notice him when she's making the porridge???😕 I'm telling ya! I reckon she's in on it!😕

I would tread carefully, its possible that watchmaker and his wife know exactly what is going on and are trying to keep things from spiraling out of control and reporting it may actually make things worse. Without being able to talk to the watchmaker in private it may be better to hold off from doing anything drastic. It doesnt sound like this is extremely urgent and at worse his reputation may worsen slightly each day but reporting could have a much more profound impact.

I'm attaching a picture of the actual watchmaker so if anyone sees him we can warn him.

Not too far off from what I was going to say.

If the guys in the shop have accents anything like good ole Boris above, don't get involved if you want to stay healthy.

This. I applaud your desire to help and will not tell you to stay out of it which, while probably the smartest thing to do, is also the least empathetic.

That said, there’s no point in putting yourself in harm’s way directly. Surely there is some middle ground between apathy and vigilantism here.

Go to the cops to share your concerns and ask them what the options are. If nothing else, they’ll have a report which might help in the future if there’s ever some sort of case against these guys. Maybe they can do a wellfare check and speak to the watchmaker privately.

Stay out of it.Their children should be proactive in the parents affairs.The old man is only your acquaintance , not a close friend.

Setting aside my earlier flippant comments... a casual observer knows very little about the situation. VERY little. I don't think that there's zero reason to get involved, but I would need more data than one weird experience to go to the cops. And I would be pretty judicious about gathering info and potentially putting myself/my family in harm's way.

People who keep suggesting “go to the police” really do not have an understanding of how the system works. There is little to nothing they can/will do as a crime has not occurred. Maybe if it’s a small town you might get some traction.

Elder services or the equivalent may be an option assuming there is even these type of resources available in your area. It’s likely there will be no investigation because frankly, nothing has happened.

While it might seem sad there is no evidence of a crime or abuse. A fake watch certainly doesn’t quality.

Loan sharks taking over the business to collect a debt seems preposterous to me. But I suppose anything is possible.

This is not entirely accurate. We in fact you are the one that misunderstands the role of the police. If you tell the police you think there may be a crime taking place they are obligated to follow up. Wether they deem it is worth digging deeper after an initial review is a different thing.

The police is a crime prevention unit as well as an active prosecutorial force. In other words there does not need to be a proven crime for them to investigate. But there has to be for one to be prosecuted.

If for example you call and say you think there is domestic abuse taking place in a household they deploy immediately, same for child abuse, or really any “possible” crime in progress or possible crime to take place. It is their duty. That’s why there are “tips” numbers.

In this case if you call them or go to the precinct and say you suspect something because he has disappeared and these guys act dodgy and they seem to be fronting fakes which the original owner never did... and remember he has disappeared... they will most likely a/ visit him at his house and make sure there is no hostage situation and b/ stop by the store and get a feel for the guys. If neither of those rises a flag they will move on.

Lastly, just so you u sweat and the LIABILITY of the polIce, if anyone reports a crime, or possible crime in progress, or a crime about to take place and they, as you imply, ignore it, then they become liable .

That’s why I suggest you just tell them, then you are doing the right thing. Don’t be a vigilante, don’t be Batman, don’t be an amateur detective... just tell them what you see and let them work it out. You’re doing the right thing and not hurting anybody. If nothing is taking place then a bunch of guys helping an old friend or family member will have a story to tell about the time a guy thought they where Russian mobsters.