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Before he was done, Glen Rock Police Detective Sgt. James Calaski found three other victims who got taken by a money launderer who lives in Africa, Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.
All of them were apparently looking for love.
The con man had developed a virtual relationship with the 65-year-old Washington State woman, convincing her that he was a contractor flipping houses in Texas, Ackermann said.
He then got her to “invest” $13,000 in his purported business, the chief said.
After that, the scammer had the woman collect $18,000 in “investments” from what turned out to be three other victims, then convert it to cryptocurrency and forward it to him, Ackermann said.
One elderly lost $12,000 and was being targeted for other scams. The other two, both women, “admitted to receiving and sending large amounts of money in addition to their own funds,” the chief said.
All “were most likely other romance scam victims who were unknowingly money laundering fraudulent funds for the African scammer,” he noted.
Although the scammer is out of the reach of American law enforcement, Calaski cost him four victims that he’d spent more than five months grooming, Ackermann said.
Those people weren’t losing any more money, either, the chief said.
“All three victims were provided instructions on how to cease their involvement in the scam, close the associated accounts and report the incident to their local police departments,” he said.
The chief said he hopes their ordeal also educates people about online stranger danger.
“NEVER send funds, wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or any other type of monetary device to anyone that you do not personally know,” he said.
Someone you’ve met online but not in person isn’t someone you truly know, no matter how long the particular “friendship” has lasted, Ackermann said.
Some victims are “groomed over months and even years” before the scammer springs the trap, he said.
It’s critical to know that, in the end, it can cost you more than money.
Because the victims are engaging in money laundering, they “could be held financially, civilly, and possibly criminally liable for any losses,” Ackermann warned.
“We urge people to look up ‘ romance scams’ and ‘money mules’ and educate themselves about these types of scams and frauds," he said.
From the police end of things, preventing someone from becoming a victim is also far better than taking a report after their money is already gone.
That’s why anyone who thinks they may be a victim – or simply has questions about an online transaction – should call their local police department or detective bureau immediately, the chief said.
“We are here to help you,” Ackermann said.
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