More than $70,000 of US and foreign currency as well as several pieces of jewelry were found during a traffic stop in Quincy in what police describe as an “Irish Traveler” scheme that’s on the rise in Mass.
A driver leaving a Holiday Inn Express in North Quincy was stopped by police on West Quantum Street when his SUV made an illegal left turn and drove the wrong way onto Stratton Way on Saturday, Jan. 20, shortly after 11 a.m., authorities said.
After the car was towed for traffic violations, police found over $70,000 in US and foreign money, foreign IDs, and a large pile of stolen jewelry, including four class rings from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s.
The driver, an Irish national, is part of a growing construction fraud scheme in Mass in which a contractor stops by someone’s home claiming to have “leftover materials.”
The person then finds “more items to repair on your property,” police said.
“It is important for victims of these type of sophisticated scams to report these crimes, as it allows our detectives to investigate and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies in the area since these crimes are a regional issue,” Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy said.