LACROSSE, Wis. — Police said airport security cameras have helped track high-flying scammers whose victims included an elderly LaCrosse couple. Images include individuals moving through security checks at the Las Vegas airport. Warrants issued from LaCrosse in September accuse the five individuals of using fake names, spoofing phone numbers, and an array of conning tactics. The charges are:
> Using false representations.
> Being a party in the scheme
> Taking advantage of elderly victims, which elevates the crime.
In all. the LaCrosse couple paid $450,000 over nine months after being told they had won a sweepstakes but first need to pay fees and taxes. The scheme had intriguing twists. In one friendly gesture, investigators said, one of the scammers called a LaCrosse pizzeria to deliver a surprise pizza to the couple with a note. Who can resist pizza. Over the course of nine months the scammers, faking several personages, averaged eight contacts a day. Investigators in LaCrosse have placed the case in a larger context going back to 2018, although the scale of the LaCrosse fraud — $450,000 — was unusually large. In one case an elderly Texas woman lost $12,300 after being told she won $2.5 million from Publisher’s Clearing House. In another case an Ohio, victim paid $7,000. There also have been parallel schemes in Alabama, California, Florida and Oregon.
At Las Vegas airport. Although the scammers never showed themselves in person to victims, police say they know what they look like. Police released these photos from waiting areas and security lines at the Harry Reid airport in Las Vegas. The dragnet is out.
