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Mildreth Santamaria-Tirado, 40, of Corona, is accused of trying to fraudulently collect $15,000 from a Hamilton man on Friday, April 15, the Hamilton Police Division said.
The victim received a call from a man claiming to be from the FBI stating that his daughter had been arrested for possessing 100 pounds of marijuana earlier that day, police said.
The man allegedly told the victim that he would have to pay 10 percent of a $200,000 bail to secure his daughter’s release.
The victim gathered $15,000 before calling back the man, who said that he would be sending someone to collect the money.
The victim was then able to reach his daughter and confirm that she was not in custody.
After realizing that he was being scammed, the victim contacted police, who arrived and saw Santamaria-Tirado speaking with him on his front porch attempting to pick up the money.
Santamaria-Tirado was arrested and charged with theft by deception. She was released and is scheduled to appear in court.
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Thomas Clugsten at (609) 581-4027 or send an email to tclugsten@hamiltonpd.org.
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