U.S. Attorney’s Office Warns Public of Imposter Scams

BENTON, Ill. - Criminal organizations are manipulating older Americans into turning over their life savings to foreign conspirators, and U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe is warning southern Illinois residents on the prevalence of imposter scams.

"Unfortunately, we're aware of several instances where seniors in southern Illinois have been victimized by imposter scams, most recently in Williamson County," said U.S. Attorney Crowe. "The Marion Police Department did extensive investigative work in the case, and we're pleased to have them as a partner to gain justice for the victims."

Imposter scams begin with a communication from the scammer in the form of a phone call, text or email from a seemingly reputable source like PayPal. The scammer will explain the victim has a suspicious purchase on their account, and if the victim did not buy the item, their account has been compromised.

The scammer will then refer the victim to another fraudster posing as a federal agent to help protect the victim's identity and assets. The fraudulent agent will try to scare the victim and tell them they are in danger of losing their savings and retirement funds. The conspirators convince the victims to drain their accounts and meet with an individual working in the conspiracy to give their cash to be deposited into a "secure" account.

Conspirators may also try to convince victims to not disclose to their bank or investment firm representatives the reason for withdrawing funds.

In southern Illinois, an elderly couple from Williamson County fell victim to an imposter scam and are estimated to have lost $121,000. Three Chinese nationals are facing federal wire fraud charges, and the defendants are scheduled to appear in district court this week.

The defendants are accused of working within a conspiracy to convince the couple they needed to secure their funds into federal government custody after a fraudulent purchase on their account. The conspirators ordered the couple to send pictures of withdrawal slips from their savings and retirement accounts, to which a "federal agent" would pick up the cash at their residence. The conspirators gave the couple code words to exchange with the courier.

The defendants were arrested in October by Marion Police Department officers as they attempted to pick up cash from the couple.

Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

To report elder fraud, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline by dialing 1-833-372-8311.

The Marion Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations are contributing to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Verseman is prosecuting the case.