In April of this year, a 58-year-old Chino Valley man contacted the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office to report internet fraud that occurred during an e-Bay transaction. The victim told deputies he wired a man in Florida $19,800 for 2 Volvo boat motors after extensive communication by phone, text and email. Once the payment was processed, the victim discovered the motors were never shipped and the seller’s phone had been disconnected.
The victim admitted he decided to wire the money to avoid Pay Pal fees so the transaction was completed outside of e-Bay payment options.
The reporting deputy contacted the seller’s bank, Chase, and verified this account had received the funds. A Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) fraud detective was notified and took over the investigation. The detective was able to confirm the seller’s identity though the Chase bank account information and verify the phone number given to the victim had been disconnected. It was also determined the price of the 2 boat motors was well under current market value which is a sign of fraud. The shipping company identified by the seller was contacted and indicated no record of this shipment of 2 boat motors.
The detective obtained a search warrant regarding the Chase bank account and learned the victim’s money had been withdrawn. The account was frozen pending further investigation. Subpoenas were issued resulting in records received for e-Bay accounts involved in the fraud. Some of the records included phone accounts which identified additional individuals involved in the scheme. As is typical in these type of investigations, records are slow to arrive and majority of them were not received until June of this year. A review of the information indicated the seller and potential suspect was based in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.
The YCSO detective contacted an investigator with the Port Saint Lucie Police Department and shared the information obtained from the extensive search warrant work completed. As a result, the Florida detective was able to track down a man associated with the Chase account holder and likely the primary suspect operating this scheme.
Once the Florida detective located and confronted the primary suspect, a 33-year-old Port Saint Lucie man, with details from the investigation, the suspect agreed to fully refund the victim’s money. This took time and additional law enforcement intervention, but on August 8, 2017, the victim received a check returning the full amount of money he originally transferred.