Oregon Woman Sold Counterfeit Gold Worth Over $40,000 Before Coffee Shop Sting Arrest

A 37-year-old woman from Portland has been detained in a sting operation by officers from the North Precinct Neighborhood Response Team (NRT) following the sale of counterfeit gold to two known suspects.

Police Seek Help From the Public to Identify More Victims

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) is now appealing to the public to come forward if they have any information about Christina L. Duncan or her counterfeit gold transactions.

Her arrest took place on Tuesday, August 19, during a sting operation at a Northeast Portland coffee shop. Police officers undertook the operation in collaboration with one of the victims.

Duncan was taken into custody without incident and is lodged in the Multnomah County detention Center. She has been charged with first-degree aggravated theft, identity theft, and seven counts of theft by deception.

The PPB believes that Duncan was involved in other unreported transactions and has released a photograph of the woman in the hope that it will help to identify more of her victims.

The police became aware of her activities when a member of the PPB’s NRT division met a victim claiming to have bought more than $22,000 in fake gold from Duncan in four separate transactions in December 2023.

NRT began an investigation, leading the police to believe that Duncan sold another $21,500 fake gold to at least five other victims, all dating to 2023. It is these victims that NRT is trying to identify to assist them in the investigation.

Anyone with information can contact Sgt. Thomas Namba at [email protected] or Officer Davor Lukic at [email protected] and reference case number 24-183023.