A Leola man is wanted by police in connection to his alleged role in a cash-for-gold scheme, according to a Maryland newspaper.

Russell Manley, 34, and two other men are accused of scamming Maryland jewelry stores last fall by swapping bottles of an acid tester with a liquid that made fake gold appear to be real, prosecutors told The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Md.

An arrest warrant was issued in November, charging Manley with theft and related counts, but he remains at large.

Another member of the trio pleaded guilty Monday in an Annapolis courtroom to theft for his role in the cash-for-gold scheme, The Capital reported.

Oren Goodwin, 50, of South Richmond Hill, N.Y., was sentenced to 18 months at a county detention center. He was given him credit for six months he has served since his arrest in February, the newspaper said. He also was ordered to pay $3,327 in restitution to the two jewelry stores he swindled.

A third suspect has not been identified.

The three men used an elaborate scheme to trick jewelry store employees into thinking costume jewelry was authentic 14-karat gold, police told The Capital.

Businesses that buy gold from the public use acid testers to determine if jewelry contains gold, police said.

The three men allegedly worked together to distract jewelry store employees and swap acid testers with identical bottles filled with water or some other clear liquid, The Capital said.

They then had their fake jewelry tested and sold it as real gold to the stores.

The trio walked out with $2,461.26 from CR Jewelers Diamond Outlet in Hanover, Md., Sept. 17, the newspaper said. Gold Traders, in Glen Burnie, Md., paid the men $1,534 for fake gold the same afternoon, according to the newspaper.

Manley allegedly used a Pennsylvania identification card during one of the transactions, The Capital reported. Detectives later tracked the men through identification cards they provided.

The third man was never identified because he did not sell any items, the newspaper said.

rrobinson@lnpnews.com