- Authorities state that scammers deceived a man from Des Moines, Iowa, into unknowingly participating in their money-laundering scheme.
- Pretending to be government officials investigating a cybercrime scheme, the scammers manipulated the man into aiding their fraudulent activities.
- Despite being informed by investigators that he had fallen victim to a scam, the man continued to assist the scammers in routing money.
A man residing in Des Moines, Iowa, has been charged by local authorities for inadvertently becoming involved in a money-laundering operation orchestrated by scammers.
According to reports from local outlet KCCI, scammers first targeted 71-year-old Loren Esse by impersonating government officials investigating cybercrime and convincingly enlisting his assistance in their supposed investigation.
Unbeknownst to Esse, he became an unwitting participant in the scam, unknowingly transferring money from victims and converting it into bitcoin on behalf of the scammers, as shared by the police.
Des Moines police disclosed that investigators informed Esse of his victimization before pursuing charges against him.
Sgt. Paul Parizek explained to local outlet WHO13, “Investigators explained to him that what he was actually doing was helping facilitate a crime to happen and that there were people, similar to him, that were being victimized of tens of thousands of dollars.”
Despite being advised by law enforcement, Esse did not cease his involvement, leading to his arrest on charges related to money-laundering.
“There’s no detectives high-fiving each other over this,” Parizek told KCCI. “This is not something we are excited about. These scammers are very convincing.”
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