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ROCHESTER — The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office is reminding residents to be wary of scammers on social media after a county resident lost $82,000 to a scam.
Deputies received a report Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, that a 72-year-old woman in Marion Township lost $32,000 to a scam. The woman sent that money in cash, via FedEx, to an address in Texas believing she was helping a "Gen. Richard D. Clark," whom she met on Facebook and was reportedly stuck in Iraq, according to Olmsted County Sheriff's Capt. James Schueller.
The woman had fallen prey to the same scam months before and had lost $50,000.
Deputies were alerted by the woman's bank after she withdrew $32,000 over concerns that she may be falling for another scam. Both the bank and law enforcement spoke to the woman, but she reportedly said she was using the money to purchase a vehicle, according to Schueller. Law enforcement made attempts to contact FedEx and have the package stopped, but it had already been delivered.
The case has been assigned to a financial exploitation investigator with the sheriff's office.
