JONESBORO, Ark. – A police report detailed a felony theft involving a Jonesboro woman who apparently thought she would be arrested if she didn’t send money to a fake DEA agent.
The theft was reported on April 28 to JPD. The female victim, 60, told police she received a call from a suspect on April 27 claiming to be with the DEA. He instructed her to pay $15,000 in Bitcoin or she would be arrested and detained for the next nine years. The woman was very scared, she told police, and did as he told her to. She went too a Bitcoin ATM and deposited the money into the machine with two $7,500 deposits.
On April 28, the suspect again called and told the woman to wire another $15,000 through the Bitcoin ATM. The report says she did as she was told, again.
Now up to $30,000 stolen, the woman went to JPD and told officers she thought she was being scammed. And while speaking to an officer, the report says the scammer actually called her again. The police answered and the scammer hung up. He then called back and tried convincing the officer that he was Chief of Police Rick Elliot. The officer told the crook he knew he was lying, and the suspect hung up.
Police have no leads in the case, as the phone number used to contact the woman was fake. It has already been placed in inactive status. The woman was given a copy of the police report to turn over to her bank.
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