IONIA – Police arrested two Illinois men this week after an Easton Township woman was scammed out of more than $40,000, according to a news release from the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office.
The men, Jainav Sanjaykumar Patel, 25, and Alonzo Lee Waheed Jr., 27, were arrested and charged on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud after returning to the 72-year-old woman’s home to raise money, said deputies in a release. .
The woman had already given more than $40,000 to scammers after losing access to her computer tablet earlier this month.
The woman called a phone number displayed on the screen for “tech support.” Deputies said the person who answered claimed he worked at the Federal Trade Commission.
The woman gave more than $40,000 to people she believed were federal agents on May 9.
“The 72-year-old victim was told that her money was not safe in the banks, and that he (the scammer) would send federal agents to her home to retrieve money she had withdrawn from her bank and kept in a bank deposited. a box,” the release said.
The woman received another call from the scammers a week later asking for more money for safekeeping.
A family member contacted police and police arrested the men near the woman. One subject told a deputy that they were part of “a larger fraud ring that was paid to collect the boxes of money from fraud victims,” according to the news release.
Deputies said they are still investigating the incident in hopes of recovering money for other victims.
“Additional charges are likely, and the Sheriff’s Office is reviewing the seized electronic data to identify additional individuals who were targeted in this scheme,” they said.
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Contact reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared in Lansing State Journal: Ionia County woman scammed out of more than $40,000; two men charged
