Feds: Woman posed as IRS agent to steal $60K
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A woman has been charged after federal attorneys say she worked with two others to try to scam a victim out of $60,000 using a fake FBI arrest warrant.
Kari Melissa Morales, 51, of Milford, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to U.S. attorneys. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
Morales and a co-conspirator, who attorneys say she met online but never in person, worked together to scam a victim with fake documents saying the person owed money to the IRS, according to a federal indictment. A co-conspirator, who was not named, sent a text to a number that used to belong to the victim but had since been reassigned to an officer in Kent County.
“I am contacting you from the IRS fraud department regarding your recent tax return filing. We detected that your last tax return was inappropriate and misleading,we need to sort this out with you before handing it over to appropriate authorities. Please respond to this text message while we discuss possible solutions to avoid you being charged for fraudulent tax filing,” the text read, according to the indictment.
A co-conspirator then threatened the victim with a fake federal arrest warrant for tax fraud, the court documents say.
One of the co-conspirators, known to Morales as “Tom,” sent Morales a fake digital “FBI WARRANT OF ARREST” document that threatened to arrest the victim for tax fraud and a fake digital “IRS Receipt” saying the victim paid the IRS $60,000 and would not be charged with tax fraud, the indictment says.
Attorneys say Morales printed out both documents and brought them to meet with who she thought was the victim in a parking lot in Grand Rapids to collect the $60,000 in cash. Morales was promised by a co-conspirator that she could collect $2,500 of the cash. The rest was supposed to go to the two co-conspirators, court documents say.
On April 8, Morales drove to Grand Rapids to meet the victim, carrying a loaded gun in a holster in her waistband and a “gold police badge that was issued to another person by a municipality in the State of Michigan,” according to the indictment. It did not say how she got the badge.
“Financial fraud is rampant,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten in a Tuesday release. “Fraudsters comes at us through our devices, in the mail, and at our doors. And they target some of our most vulnerable, especially senior citizens … Safety starts with awareness. Federal agencies like the IRS and FBI will never send anyone texts, emails, or other messages requesting or demanding money to dismiss an arrest warrant or criminal charges.”
Totten reminded people to be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, texts, mailings and door-to-door services. If you believe you or someone you know who is 60 years or older has been scammed out of money, contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1.833.FRAUD.11 (37283) or the Federal Trade Commission hotline at 877.FTC.HELP (3824951).
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