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Michelle Mendonca 42, of Galloway Township was charged with fraud, theft by deception and money laundering for scamming elderly out-of-state residents, Galloway police said.
She was arrested at her home on South Pitney Road on Friday, July 14 at 10:35 a.m., they said.
Officers of the Galloway Township Police Department conducted a warranted search of her home regarding a multi-state elder fraud investigation.
Detective Tim Giberson of the Galloway Township Police Department was made aware of a potential scam involving the elderly after a jurisdiction in Texas reported an elderly victim who sent a large sum of money to an address in Galloway Township, police said.
The investigation led to the discovery of multiple victims, in multiple states, and culminated in the execution of the search warrant on the suspect’s residence, they said.
As a result of the search warrant, approximately $360,000 in cash was located in the residence and confirmed to be the proceeds of the fraud scam, police said.
The Galloway Township Police Department would like to remind all residents, especially the elderly, "to be very cautious when solicited to send money over the phone or the internet."
State agencies such as the IRS will never solicit monetary payments over the phone or by email and will never ask for payments to be made in cash.
If you receive a call and think it is potentially a scam, ask for contact information or a call back number and contact the police.
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