2 charged after scamming woman out of thousands

EASTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Two men from Illinois have been charged after scamming a woman in Easton Township, deputies say.

On May 17, deputies with the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office began investigating wire fraud involving a 72-year-old Easton Township woman.

The sheriff’s office said the scam started when the woman’s computer locked out on May 8 with a phone number for “technical support.” When she called the number, the other person on the phone said they were from the Federal Trade Commission and her accounts had been compromised in an identity theft in a different state.

She was told that her money wasn’t safe in the bank and that the so-called FTC would be sending federal agents to her home to pick up the money. The sheriff’s office said the people posing as federal agents picked up over $40,000 from the woman on May 9 at her home.

A week later, the woman got another call saying asking for more money to be given to them for safekeeping, the sheriff’s office said. That is when a relative got involved and contacted law enforcement.

The sheriff’s office said that the scammers were planning on sending additional people to the woman’s home to pick up what they thought was an additional box of money.

“These scam artists are really good, and even provided her with the type and color of car that was to arrive at her home to pick up that money to make things seem more official,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

When the vehicle arrived in the area, a deputy stopped the vehicle and arrested two people from Illinois, the sheriff’s office said.

“…Neither had a good or valid reason to be in Ionia County, MI,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

While being questioned by investigators, the sheriff’s office said one person admitted that they were part of a larger fraud ring that was being paid to pick up boxes of money from victims. Evidence on their phones also linked them to the woman’s address.

The sheriff’s office said that investigators have learned that the people who spoke with the woman on the phone were based overseas and that they used various anonymity apps to hide their identities and call spoofing to make it seem like it was the FTC.

On Monday, 25-year-old Jainav Sanjaykumar Patel of Carbondale, Illinois, and 27-year-old Alonzo Lee Waheed Jr. of Marion, Illinois, were each charged with conspiracy to commit false pretenses – $20,000 or more but less than $50,000. Additional charges are likely, the sheriff’s office said.

Their bond was set at $25,000 each.

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