WILDWOOD CREST — On June 4, Wildwood Crest police received a complaint of theft by deception.

The victim told police he had purchased a business, Coliseum Pizzeria in the Coliseum Motel, Miami Avenue and the beach from Rafat A. Arqoub, 32, of Pleasantville.

The victim said he paid $60,000 at the time of the sale which included all contents and rights to operate the business. He ran the business without incident for two seasons.

Before starting the third season, the victim had some difficulty and decided not to continue operating the business from the Coliseum Motel.

When the victim attempted to collect the equipment that he purchased, the motel’s owner advised him that Arqoub never owned the contents of the pizzeria, and had no right to sell the items to him.

The motel owner was led to believe that the victim was operating the pizzeria on Arqoub’s behalf, according to a police report.

After a long investigation, Arqoub was arrested July 15 at 5 p.m. and charged with one count of theft by deception and one count of document fraud.

Arqoub posted bail and was released.