Thief River Falls, MN (trfnews.i234.me) – Karen Sue James, 72, of Troy, Ohio, has been charged with attempted felony theft by swindle in Pennington County District Court. The charges stem from an alleged scheme to obtain $18,000 from a Thief River Falls woman under false pretenses. The complaint was filed on Tuesday, July 2, and James has been summoned to appear in court.
The investigation began when Northern State Bank reported potential fraud on May 17. A male scammer had convinced the victim that she had won $2.5 million and a new vehicle from Publishers Clearing House. The woman, who had previously ordered items from Publishers Clearing House, was told she needed to pay taxes and shipping fees for delivery.
Over the course of the scam, the woman sent two $8,000 cashier’s checks to James in Ohio. She was also asked to withdraw $15,000 from her savings to cover additional expenses. Fortunately, the checks had not been cashed yet, and bank employees alerted the authorities.
Police linked James to the scam when the victim was directed to send money to her home. James also allegedly sent a briefcase, purportedly containing $500,000, to the victim. The return address on the package was James’ own, and surveillance photos matched her description.
Further investigation revealed that James had a history of theft-related crimes. A Troy police officer seized mail from her porch and coordinated with the U.S. Postal Service to intercept the fraudulent checks.
On July 2, the scammers sent the victim a briefcase, claiming it contained $500,000 to help with her taxes. The briefcase, however, only contained a book of biker poetry. The investigator confirmed that James lived at the address provided and matched her driver’s license photo to the surveillance images.