Cop tracks down scammer who conned elderly woman out of $45K [VIDEO]
Cop tracks down scammer who conned elderly woman out of $45K
A rural Colorado man is due in St. Louis County Circuit Court next month. This comes after being charged with scamming a Maryland Heights woman out of more than $45,000 in 2023.
According to the Maryland Heights Police Department’s probable cause statement, the scam occurred on Dec. 14, 2023.
How The Scam Took Place
The victim told investigators that she was on her computer and received alerts that her computer had been hacked. As a result, she was instructed to contact Microsoft and given a phone number to call.
The woman spoke with the alleged Microsoft employee. After that, she was told an agent with the Federal Trade Commission would contact her.
“They told her that her Social Security number had been taken and it had been used in several different crimes, and before she could be relinquished from being blamed for those crimes, she had to send out a bunch of money,” Detective Greg Jackson, Maryland Heights Police Department, said.
This “agent” told the victim she could clear her name of any wrongdoing. In addition, they said they would fix her computer problem by writing a check in the amount of $45,047.35 payable to Garnet Bird Sanctuary LLC. After that, she was to mail it to the address of a UPS store in Montrose, Colorado.
The victim mailed the check as requested and contacted authorities about the ordeal.
Detective Jackson and The Investigation
Detective Jackson followed the evidence.
“Luckily for me, when I got in contact with the store owner, he remembered the transaction almost instantaneously. He said, ‘Yep, you know, a guy did come in and get a check for that amount.’ (He) did have that tracking number on it. And, in fact, it wasn’t the first check the particular guy came to get.”
Investigators obtained security footage from the UPS store where the check was mailed. In addition, the bank that maintains the LLC’s account.
Police claim Garnet W. Bird, 65, picked up the check from the UPS store. After that, he deposited it at the bank under his LLC account.
The Aftermath
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Bird with stealing – $25,000 or more. A circuit court judge issued a summons to Bird on June 25, ordering him to appear in court on July 31.
“You’ve gotta be aware of this stuff, because it’s not going away,” Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said.
The victim in this case was in her 70s.
“It can be scary to people if they think they might be in legal trouble,” Bell said.
Now, the victim has turned the tables.
“Don’t be scamming my residents here in Maryland Heights. It won’t work out well for you,” Jackson said. “We follow up the best we can and we try to get our bad guy every single time.”
Authorities said the $45,000 already appears to be gone. However, they’ll work through the court case to try and recover the money through restitution.