Police say scam targeted Walmart shoppers

When a man collecting money for charity outside Walmart started dumping coins into the store’s cash machine, shoppers got suspicious.

Now, Culpeper police want the public’s help investigating an alleged scam that paid local people to solicit charitable donations.

Reginald E. Randall, 49, of Norfolk, has been charged with misdemeanor obtaining money by false pretenses and giving false information to the state to conduct a charitable business, also a misdemeanor.

He remains jailed on $5,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment in General District Court Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

According to town spokesman Wally Bunker, a citizen contacted authorities about the legitimacy of a group soliciting charitable contributions to stop child abuse. Randall and other collectors were in front of Walmart last weekend and the weekend of Oct. 23.

Bunker said Walmart gave permission for the group, which claimed to represent People That Care, to operate outside the store. There, they collected donations and handed out flyers listing a Web site and the warning signs of child abuse.

Bunker said the phone number listed on the Web site had been disconnected. One shopper even told the Star-Exponent a money collector other than Randall asked for his credit card number when he couldn’t produce cash. The shopper refused.

When Brooking began his investigation on Friday, he went to speak with the store’s loss prevention personnel. Once there, he encountered Randall soliciting money.

Randall presented Brooking with a charity identification card, but Bunker said it was hard to read. Randall also allegedly told police he was working for the charity out of Richmond, yet the flyer’s Web site directed police to the Hampton Roads area.

At this point in the investigation, police are unsure if Randall is affiliated with the Hampton Roads charity, which says it benefits homeless people and battered women.

Instead of using volunteers, police say Randall recruited local people to collect money and converted his coins to cash.

“They were hiring people to collect donations,” Brooking said. “And they were being paid from the donations.”

The investigation is continuing, and additional charges may be filed against Randall and others.

“We are looking for anyone who has been swindled and willing to assist in the prosecution,” said Capt. Ricky Pinksaw.

Have a tip?
Anyone with information about Reginald E. Randall may contact Detective Brooking of the Culpeper Police Department at 829-5504. Randall has been charged with posing as a charitable collector in front of Walmart.