Scammers Threaten Minnesotans To Pay Up
Jun 8, 2009 10:52 pm



Don Shelby MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (WCCO) ―
In Jamaica, agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement are assisting the national police force of that country in a search for some of the cleverest scam artists in the world and one of the biggest targets for these scammers is Minnesotans.






Have you ever gotten a call that starts: "Hey, you just won a million dollars." The next thing they tell you is in order to get the prize money you have to first pay some taxes and fees.

Approximately 60,000 Minnesotans have been victims of this kind of scam. And many have received serious threats if they don't cooperate -- threats of death, arson and even raping their grandchildren. It is a sophisticated and dangerous business, but Minnesota officials are leading the charge to stop these crimes and get y our money back. A large part of it all starts on a small Caribbean island.

In Jamaica, agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement are assisting the national police force of that country in a search for some of the cleverest scam artists in the world and one of the biggest targets for these scammers is Minnesotans.

"We estimate, right now, Minnesotans are losing $30 million a year," said John Willems, the director of Minnesota's Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement division of the Department of Public Safety.

Willems and, another special agent, from his division are in Jamaica to begin what they hope will be a continuous crackdown on these scammers. Minnesota is a well known target and Jamaican authorities know that.

"They have told us that Minnesota is a very prominent target for these people who commit these frauds. I don't know whether it's the Minnesota Nice. I don't know if it's the Midwestern attitudes and trusting nature or whatever it is, but Minnesota is heavily targeted," said Willems.

WCCO-TV interviewed several people who have been victimized by such scams. They all asked not to be identified. The following is a compilation of what they told us.

"I was contacted by phone by these people with a foreign dialect."

"We had won a large sum of money."

"In order to get the money from there to the United States, you had to pay a special tax and there was interest."

"They start off friendly, but then, one man, when I told him to stop scamming, stop calling me, said, 'I'll kill you.'"

All of the victims had been threatened and their stories are similar to at least 60,000 other Minnesotans who have been targeted by the scams.

"I cried constantly. And I called everybody that I thought I could get some help from and they said they couldn't do anything because they were out of the country," said one victim.

But there is something that can be done. Minnesota is leading the charge against these crimes.

According to Willems, "Minnesota citizens deserve better than 'You can do nothing.' Our whole approach to this point has been: 'Don't tell me what I can't do, tell me what I can do.'"

What they are doing is working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Jamaican federal police. They are providing evidence from Minnesota victims so that they can make raids and arrests in Jamaica, at the heart of the problem.

Last week, WCCO's Don Shelby was with police as they raided four houses in Montego Bay. They collected sophisticated computers and cell phone systems, along with call lists of potential and actual victims.

Jamaica SWAT units went into the raids heavily armed. The scammers are armed and dangerous. They have murdered more than 400 people on this small island just to get copies of phone lists. More than 19 police officers have been drawn into the crime syndicates and are being prosecuted for corruption.

The Superintendent of the Jamaican Constabulary Forces, Fitz Bailey, said more than $100 million in Jamaican cash has been seized and will try to return this money to people from whom it has been stolen.

"A lot of times people think they're talking with our federal government officials. They might think that they are talking with the IRS. They may think they're talking with the Federal Trade Commission," said Minnesota Special Agent Jim Arlt.

He said the scammer will often use telephone numbers in Washington, D.C. but the phones are answered in boiler room operations in Jamaica. Some victims even receive letterhead stationery from federal government agencies.

The victims are often older Minnesotans and some are vulnerable adults. Yet, the average response to learning that someone has been victimized by such a scam is simply to say that the victim was stupid.

"Shame on the person who believes that these people are that ignorant. These are extremely vulnerable people. They are elderly, they trust people. For someone to say that they couldn't become a victim of fraud schemes is sheer ignorance," said Willems.

http://wcco.com/local/jamaica.scams.thr ... 36689.html