You are a law enforcement criminal investigator in an Economic Crime Unit. A Mr. James Smith walks into your office and asks to speak to a detective. He appears to be in his early 60s. After introducing yourself, you sit down with him and he states that he thinks he is the victim of crime, but he is not sure. He states that he is involved in a real estate deal with another investor named Richard Dume, who is the president of a company titled Dume Real Estate Investment Corporation. They met at a business convention and connected through LinkedIn. The man stated that after a couple of months he was contacted by Richard Dume and asked if he was interested in purchasing and flipping real estate in the southern part of the county. The second meeting was held a restaurant and consisted of Mr. Dume, Mr. Smith, and both of their wives. This meeting is where the agreement was entered to begin the purchasing process for this real estate deal. The land was going to be zoned for business development, and if they bought the land they could sell it to those businesses that wished to build on that property. He was told the deal would take approximately one year from start to finish.

James Smith stated that he provided Mr. Dume five payments of $55,000 over the course of two years to purchase land as an equal partner. He stated that Mr. Dume said the deal was stalled based on his additional investors and that zoning was becoming an issue. The transactions were completed through wire transfers from the Bank of America to Mellon Bank. However, he stated that he told Mr. Dume that since he had not seen any progress in the real estate deal he was not sending him any more money until he saw evidence of forward progress. The last time he spoke to Mr. Dume was three months ago. Since Mr. Smith refused to send more money, it appeared to him that Mr. Dume was not taking Mr. Jamesâs calls and was never available to see him, even when he stopped by his office.

As a prominent business man in the community with several ties to local business and charities, Mr. James is upset and also very embarrassed because he got involved in this business transaction. He is also worried that the perception is that he committed a criminal act if it is alleged that a criminal act was committed by Mr. Dume using his money. Mr. James stated that the only reason he came in to see you was because his wife had pleaded with him to do so.

What questions would you ask of Mr. Smith during this interview? What documentation would you collect as evidence in this case?

When would you seek to interview Mr. Dume in relationship to this investigation?

Would you interview other people in relationship to this case?

Who will you contact to assist in the investigation?

When would you elect to interview Mr. Dume, and what possible charges would you bring against him?

How would you help the victim of the crime?

Finally, discuss the psychological impact of being a victim of this crime? Why are people reluctant to report this type of victimization?

Your paper should be a minimum of three full pages in length, utilizing proper APA style. You are not allowed to number your responses to coincide with the directions. Standard paragraph format is required for this assignment.