aGameOfThrones
08-11-2012, 01:57 PM
A video-game addict forced a fellow geek to fork over 4.7 billion “magic” coins by pulling a realistic-looking gun during a robbery in a Fordham University classroom, The Post has learned.
The coins, used to buy items in the swords-and-sorcery video game “RuneScape,” are so treasured by players that they are regularly swapped online for real cash.
Suspect Humza Bajwa, 19, of Massachusetts, pretended he was seeking to buy game currency and arranged a deal with fellow player Jonathan Dokler to purchase the nearly 5 billion coins for $3,300 in real money, according to a criminal complaint.
Emani told The Post that he met Bajwa in the school library on July 11 — and had a feeling something was wrong.
“He was transferring money from one envelope to another envelope, and I got a glimpse of it and it looked fake,” Emani said. “I was on the phone with John, and I said, ‘Don’t do it. It looks fake.’ ”
But Dokler wanted to continue with the transaction, even after Bajwa suddenly said he had to leave and asked to meet again the next night.
Emani said he came prepared for the second meeting, in a classroom, with a real $100 bill to compare with Bajwa’s money. “I took it out and said, ‘The money you have is fake,’ ” said Emani. That’s when Bajwa went from white knight to fire-breathing dragon — pointing a realistic-looking BB gun at Emani, the complaint says.
“I whispered, ‘Take it easy, man. No need for that gun,’ ” Emani said. “I couldn’t believe I was about to get shot over RuneScape! I was so scared I was about to die.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/game_over_for_vid_kid_robber_DQgYQB3lApPVWB4FXXRiF N
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The coins, used to buy items in the swords-and-sorcery video game “RuneScape,” are so treasured by players that they are regularly swapped online for real cash.
Suspect Humza Bajwa, 19, of Massachusetts, pretended he was seeking to buy game currency and arranged a deal with fellow player Jonathan Dokler to purchase the nearly 5 billion coins for $3,300 in real money, according to a criminal complaint.
Emani told The Post that he met Bajwa in the school library on July 11 — and had a feeling something was wrong.
“He was transferring money from one envelope to another envelope, and I got a glimpse of it and it looked fake,” Emani said. “I was on the phone with John, and I said, ‘Don’t do it. It looks fake.’ ”
But Dokler wanted to continue with the transaction, even after Bajwa suddenly said he had to leave and asked to meet again the next night.
Emani said he came prepared for the second meeting, in a classroom, with a real $100 bill to compare with Bajwa’s money. “I took it out and said, ‘The money you have is fake,’ ” said Emani. That’s when Bajwa went from white knight to fire-breathing dragon — pointing a realistic-looking BB gun at Emani, the complaint says.
“I whispered, ‘Take it easy, man. No need for that gun,’ ” Emani said. “I couldn’t believe I was about to get shot over RuneScape! I was so scared I was about to die.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/game_over_for_vid_kid_robber_DQgYQB3lApPVWB4FXXRiF N
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