Feinstein does a good deed, nabs scammer in sting

Alan Shawn Feinstein is not a stranger to desperate phone calls. He gets pleas from people all the time, asking for help, food and money.

“People call or write me for money all the time,” he said, “but most of my money is tied up in my foundation for hunger relief and education.”

Feinstein is a well-known philanthropist and humanitarian and his organization, The Feinstein Foundation, promotes the same values he has as an individual.

But his charity and kindness are what make an easy target for people who may not have honest intentions, said bookkeeper Lily Diglio.

“A lot of times you don’t know if people are being completely honest,” she said.

Last Tuesday, March 22, at 7 a.m., a woman called Feinstein in tears. She was begging for money for her son, who was deathly ill with a fungal infection around his liver, caused by food poisoning. She called again at 8 a.m., and spoke with Feinstein’s assistant. Finally, Feinstein spoke to the woman and explained that he does not give money over the phone in circumstances like these. He suggested she go directly to the hospital.

“I usually refer people to services like 211 or point them in the right direction,” he said

A few hours passed and Feinstein received a call from a physician’s assistant, who said he was from the clinic at which the boy was being treated. Feinstein agreed to give the man $200 to pay for the boy’s medicines. But the man insisted that the check needed to be made out to him, Brian Reynolds, personally.

He said the boy’s food poisoning and subsequent liver fungus was under investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Health, and because “the case was sealed” they couldn’t have a paper trail.

Thinking things were a bit fishy, but not wanting to deny a potentially sick child the care he needed, Feinstein met Reynolds later that afternoon and gave him the check. Reynolds arrived in scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck and left with the check in his hands.

The next day, Reynolds called back. This time, the boy needed an emergency operation, and more money was needed. In fact, the situation was so dire Reynolds was going to perform the surgery himself, at the Truesdale Clinic in Fall River, Mass.

Diglio spoke with him and asked a barrage of questions, including what doctor he assisted. After stalling for time, he finally answered “Dr. Phillips.”

Diglio put in a call to the Truesdale Clinic and found no Dr. Phillips or Brian Reynolds.

“I figured that was his real name, too, since he had to be cashing the checks,” said Diglio.

That’s when she decided enough was enough.

“The whole story was a little outlandish. You would think that if the Department of Health was involved they would get the child the care it needed. But the thing was, he was remarkably convincing. Usually I can tell when someone is lying, but this time it was tricky.”

So Diglio and Feinstein consulted and put a call into the Cranston Police, who suggested they set up a sting operation.

Feinstein would agree to pay Reynolds again, that afternoon, and the police would be waiting for him outside.

“I got excited about the sting operation,” said Diglio. “I thought, ‘Oh, this will be fun!’”

Diglio set up a time for Reynolds to come and pick up the check, made out in the amount of $250. The police assured Feinstein he would get that money back.

Reynolds arrived that afternoon, wearing a shirt from the Truesdale Clinic and the same stethoscope. His pants, however, appeared to be chef’s pants. According to Diglio, he kept up the act the entire time, even making a call on his cell phone to tell someone that the operation would have to be postponed.

“It was fun to watch him spin his wheels. This guy had some nerve,” Diglio said.

After he got the check, he got into a taxicab with two other women and pulled away.

That’s when Diglio made the call to the police, who were standing by. They pulled the cab over and arrested Reynolds, who had an active Superior Court bench warrant for failing to appear in court to answer to similar unrelated charges.

Feinstein, who visited Rhodes School 15 minutes after the ordeal, said he saw where they had pulled the cab over.

“There were lights flashing and they had the guy out in the street. Then they came back to get a statement from me. They said this guy was quite a character,” he said

Reynolds’ mother, who they think made the initial tearful calls to Feinstein, and his aunt, were both in the cab.

“Apparently, he’s from Warren and has quite the record full of all kinds of fraud,” said Diglio. “He’s probably been doing this since day care. It’s sad. It’s a lifestyle for him and his mother, who probably groomed him to do this.”

This isn’t the first time Feinstein has been involved in a scam. Last year, Feinstein got entangled with the “lobster trap” scam, in which a man made phone calls to individuals and organizations seeking money. He told people he had a boat full of lobsters and his truck broke down. He needed to be fronted money or else lose his entire catch. The man contacted many people and was eventually exposed as a sham. Feinstein had to testify against him.

“I get a lot of bizarre calls,” said Feinstein, “and I try to help people who are in need, but this [scam] was over the top.”

According to a statement from Cranston Police, Brian Reynolds, 31, was charged with two counts of obtaining money under false pretences. He was presented to Cranston District Court to be arraigned, where his surety bail was set at $5,000. He was brought to the Superior Court on his outstanding felony warrant for counterfeiting and forgery. His pre-trial Cranston court date is set for Wednesday, April 6.