You should have seen the look on his face

[bloocrab]

As luck would have it we drove past him leaving the neighborhood later that day. She explained her concern and he agreed to give the money back, then just drifted away.

I think you're being a bit naive. If this gentleman took cash from your wife for a magazine script, he's well aware of being involved in a possible scam. He knows this *job is not a lifetime career and that he can easily take the "2 for them, 1 for me" approach. What does he have to lose? Lots of scams out there...I'd bet after you got your money back and voiced your concern, the "drifted away" that you saw, was his escape.