A 19-year-old Fordham University student is looking at 15 years in the slammer after allegedly putting a BB gun to the head of a classmate Fordham University student and demanding that 4.7 billion Runescape coins be transferred to his character, reports the New York Post.
[Correction] An earlier version of this story misidentified the suspect Humza Bajwa as a Fordham student. He is not. Victim David Emami's last name also was incorrectly spelled.
The bizarre robbery happened after the accused, Humza Bajwa (above, as pictured today on the New York Post's website), first tried to buy the Runescape currency with what appeared to be counterfeit money. David Emami said he was acting on behalf of his friend, Jonathan Dokler, who was at home monitoring the deal on a cell phone waiting for Emani's confirmation that the deal was legitimate, and to transfer the coins.
Even after the first deal fell apart, Dokler still wanted to sell Bajwa the coins, so a second one was arranged. This time Emami flatly told Bajwa his money was counterfeit. That's when Bajwa whipped out a pellet gun that looked like a real handgun and put it to Emani's head, the Post reported.
"I couldn't believe I was about to get shot over RuneScape," he told the Post. He was ordered to call Dokler and tell him to transfer the 4.7 billion coins, worth about $3,000 in real world money, even though Runescape's maker officially prohibits gold selling. Dokler gave over the coins, and after an investigation, Bajwa was arrested at his Massachusetts home.
Bajwa has been charged with second degree robbery, which carries a 15-year maximum sentence if convicted. The Post of course, already calls him a video game addict. Probably the most laughable quote comes from Dokler, the guy who didn't have a fake gun put to his head in a demand for fake money. "I'm not terribly surprised [by the robbery attempt] because the coins are pretty much as good as cash," he told the Post. You know, you never hear about a Runescape coin deal gone good, do you?
Teen stole fantasy coins for video game 'RuneScape' with gun threat: cops [NY Post via DualShockers]