Two men arrested in holiday tip scam

During a season of giving two men apparently took advantage of people's generosity.

Waukesha police arrested a 41-year-old Pewaukee man and a 33-year-old Hartford man last week for a holiday scam that netted about $600.

The Pewaukee man allegedly left a letter inside a Christmas card that was placed in people's mailboxes or Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper tubes. The letter gives the impression it was written by the newspaper carrier and includes an address for a PO box for anyone who wanted to send in a tip. The address, however, is actually a post office box at a UPS store on Silvernail Drive in Waukesha.

The man may have left the letter with as many as 1,000 people in the Brookfield, Elm Grove and Waukesha areas.

Waukesha Police Capt. Ron Oremus said his department has recommended the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office charge the Pewaukee man with theft by fraud and mail fraud. Oremus said it was unknown at this time if charges would be recommended against the Hartford man as the Pewaukee man was primarily responsible for the scam.

Oremus said some of the victims were elderly people who cannot afford to send money.

The real newspaper carrier alerted his customers of the scam as soon as he became aware of it. A representative of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said customers can assure that their tip reaches the right person by arranging the tip at the time they renew their subscription. The renewal form offers an option to include the tip in the payment amount.