Authorities Seek Suspected Bike Shop Scammer in California

A man who is thought to have targeted eight separate bike shops in attempts to steal high end bikes is being sought by police in southern California, B.R.A.I.N reports.

Marlon Markham, 32, is suspected of using a number of different aliases and attempting to purchase bikes with fraudulent credit cards.

Markham first entered Sunnyside Bicycles in Fresno and claimed to be buying a bike for his uncle. The chip on his credit card didn't work so staff confirmed his identity and inputted the details manually. It was later learned that the card belonged to a nearby woman and the bike surfaced on eBay. It has not been recovered. Markham returned to the shop two weeks later but was confronted by the owner and ran away. The shop managed to get the man's license plate and posted pictures of him on social media to warn other bike shops.

Since then he has targeted a number of other shops in the area including Visalia Cyclery and Go Green Bicycle but it seems he was unsuccessful in his attempts to scam them thanks to Sunnyside's photos.

Visalia Police Det. Brian Young is investigating the case and said Markham appears to have some knowledge of bicycles, always targeting high-dollar models. The detective is urging any business believed to have had contact with Markham to contact him at 559-713-4574. Retailers can also contact their local law enforcement agency and reference Case #193996 with the Visalia Police Department.