2 arrested after $1.5M scam of Treasure Island resident's jewelry, precious metals: Police
2 arrested in $1.5M Treasure Island scam
Treasure Island police arrested two people after investigators say a sophisticated phone scam led to the theft of approximately $1.5 million in jewelry and precious metals from an older resident.
TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - Treasure Island police arrested two people after investigators say a sophisticated phone scam led to the theft of approximately $1.5 million in jewelry and precious metals from an older resident.
Treasure Island phone scam
What we know:
Treasure Island Police Chief John Barkley said Friday that the investigation began Feb. 10 after officers responded to the Treasure Island home for a reported burglary, grand theft and scheme to defraud.
Investigators believe the case was part of a larger fraud ring and said more arrests could follow.
According to police, the victim received phone calls from people impersonating employees of Chase Bank and Bank of America.
The suspects convinced the victim that her bank accounts and credit cards had been compromised and persuaded her to make massive wire transfers to accounts controlled by the suspects, TIPD said.
At one point, the alleged scammers tried to initiate a second large wire transfer, but bank employees recognized the transaction as fraudulent and stopped it, according to police.
Courtesy: Tampa Police Department/ DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
The suspects then changed tactics, police said. They allegedly told the victim that employees at her own bank were involved in the scheme and that armed people could come to her home, rob her and take her property.
The accused scammers then convinced the victim that she needed to move her valuables to a safe location and that they would help her do so, TIPD said.
Instead, police say a suspect was sent to the victim's home.
Investigators said the victim was persuaded to open a safe in her garage that contained her valuables.
The suspect told her to open the garage door and then go back inside so she would not have to see him, according to police.
The suspect then drove into the garage, emptied the safe and left with the valuables, TIPD said.
Tracing stolen wire funds
Dig deeper:
Neighborhood surveillance footage and Flock license plate reader cameras helped investigators identify the vehicle used in the burglary.
Police identified James Arthur Graves Graham Jr., 24, as the alleged burglar who went to the victim's home.
Graham reported the following day that his vehicle had been stolen. Investigators later recovered the vehicle in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Surveillance video and latent fingerprints also provided evidence in the case, police said.
Treasure Island detectives contacted Tampa police, and Graham was eventually arrested at his Tampa apartment following a search warrant.
Investigators said they found clothing inside the apartment consistent with what Graham was wearing during the alleged burglary.
Treasure Island detectives and investigators with the State Attorney's Office spent months tracing the money and following leads across several states.
Investigators traveled or conducted interviews in Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, California and Texas as they tracked where the money went.
Some of the money was traced to a bank account in Georgia belonging to Alnesha Bianca Handy, 35, according to police.
Investigators interviewed Handy in Georgia, and the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office arrested her.
Unrecovered property and suspects
What we don't know:
Police said additional arrests could be made.
Investigators are still working to determine where the rest of the victim’s money and property went.
By the numbers:
Despite the complexity of the investigation, police said they were able to recover more than 83% of the victim's wire transfer losses.
Barkley called the recovery extremely unusual in fraud cases.
"I've been in law enforcement 37 years and the amount of times we've gotten money from scammers is almost nil," Barkley said.
Barkley credited the investigators' work with recovering the money and returning it to the victim.
Once money is transferred in these types of scams, it can be moved rapidly through multiple bank accounts and other methods, making it difficult for investigators to recover, TIPD said.
Police said the victim was able to recover a majority of her life savings and was "extremely grateful."
"There is a lot of property still missing, but the fact that we were able to give her a significant amount back was huge for us," Barkley said. "This is a rare event that we were able to get this much money back."
Scammer tactics and warnings
What they're saying:
Barkley said scammers in the case kept the victim on the phone for more than four and a half hours, using fear and confusion to prevent her from taking a step back and verifying what was happening.
The scammers also changed their approach after a second wire transfer was stopped.
"These scammers are professionals at creating fear and urgency," Barkley said.
Police urge residents who receive suspicious calls involving their finances to slow down and verify the information before sending money or giving anyone access to their property.
"Speed and confusion is what they rely on," Barkley said.
Anyone who receives a concerning call should verify the information independently and contact local law enforcement if they believe they are being targeted.
"It can happen to anybody," Barkley said. "It all started from a phone call."
The Source: This story was gathered from quotes provided by Treasure Island Police Chief John Barkley and information from the Treasure Island Police Department.