ST. JOHNSBURY — A local senior was able to get his money back yesterday after local police thwarted a scam carried out against him.
The St. Johnsbury Police Department says they were alerted to suspicious activity at an area bank back in November.
It was learned that a senior citizen had sent an overnight package containing $9,500 in cash to an address in Las Vegas, at the demands of phone scammers who purported to be law enforcement officers.
The scammers were repeatedly contacting the man in order to coerce and extort money from him under the bogus threat of an arrest warrant.
The investigating officer traced the package and had it seized with the assistance of the United Parcel Service and Las Vegas Metro Police.
The investigating officer also spoke to the suspects on the phone and confirmed they were not legitimate law enforcement officers. Yesterday, the money in question was delivered back to the St. Johnsbury Police Department by UPS Security.
The money was counted, verified, and immediately returned to the St. Johnsbury resident. The crimes committed by the unknown suspect are grand larceny, extortion, and impersonation of law enforcement officers.
Police are urging residents to not send money or gift cards to unknown parties in response to unsolicited phone calls and report any and all suspicious activity to the police department.
