Man Sentenced for Scamming Fall River Woman

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A 60-year-old man is headed to prison and will serve up to five years for scamming a Fall River woman out of $8,500.

Robert Goodrich, who has no known address, must also pay full restitution to the woman after pleading guilty in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging him with larceny of a motor vehicle over $1,200.

According to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, Fall River Police were sent to the 60-year-old victim’s home on February 20, 2019 after she contacted police. She told them she met Goodrich on an online dating website a few weeks earlier and had been dating him since then.

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She said during one of their dates, she told Goodrich she was looking for a new car, and he offered to do it for her. He later told her he had found a good price on a Toyota RAV-4 in New Hampshire and told her to write a check for $8,500 for it. She did, and he cashed it that same day.

The next day, the victim gave Goodrich her car to trade in to complete the purchase of the RAV-4, but instead he disappeared. Her car was later found abandoned in Everet.

D.A. Quinn said Goodrich previously resided in the Lynn area and has numerous prior convictions for theft-related crimes.

“The defendant is a career criminal and a thief,” Quinn said. “Clearly at the age of 60, he has no intention of obeying the law.”