Treasure Island, Fla.—Police in Treasure Island, Florida, arrested two individuals accused of scamming an older woman out of $1.5 million in jewelry and precious metals, as well as $280,000.
Alnesha Bianca Handy, 35, and James Arthur Graves Graham Jr., 24, were arrested after allegedly operating a complex phone scam.
On Feb. 10, the unnamed victim received phone calls from people claiming to be from Bank of America and Chase Bank, said Treasure Island Police Chief John Barkley in a press conference last week.
She was on the phone with the scammers for around 4.5 hours, he said.
They told her that her bank accounts and credit cards had been compromised, and convinced her to make wire transfers into an account they had provided.
When actual bank employees noticed a second large wire transfer, they stopped the transaction. The suspects then had to change course.
The suspects were able to convince the woman that the bank employees were the ones scamming her, warning her that armed individuals from the bank may come to her home to rob her of her property.
“These scammers are professionals at creating fear and urgency. That’s one of your warning signs,” said Barkley.
The suspects said she needed to move her valuables to a safer location, and that they could help her do that.
One of the suspects drove to the woman’s home, went into her unlocked garage, emptied the open safe, and drove away with her jewelry and precious metals.
“This demonstrates how sophisticated, how aggressive these scams can become,” said Barkley, later adding he did not believe the scam was assisted by AI.
Graham had reported his vehicle stolen the following day, said officials, and it was later recovered in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Treasure Island detectives worked with the Tampa police, where Graham lived, and arrested him after conducting a search warrant at his apartment.
Officials found clothing there that they said matched what he was wearing at the time of the burglary.
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Surveillance video, Flock cameras, and latent fingerprints also aided the case.
Investigators conducted interviews across Florida, as well as Georgia, California, and Texas to track down the money.
They eventually traced some of the money to a bank account in Georgia, which they said belonged to Handy, leading to her arrest.
After six months investigating the fraud and burglary, with cooperation from various agencies, police were able to recover 83 percent of the wire-fraud losses, a rarity when it comes to these scams.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for over 37 years and the amount of times we’ve gotten money back from scammers is almost nil,” Barkley said.
“Once the money is transferred in these scams, it’s often moved very, very quickly through other bank accounts and other means, so it disappears.”
As for the whereabouts of the jewelry and precious metals, a spokesperson for the department said the items are still part of the active investigation.
The Treasure Island Police Department shared tips to prevent scams like this from happening.
If you receive a call from your bank that seems suspicious, hang up and call the number listed on the back of the card.
Banks will never call, text, or email a customer asking them to move money or hand valuables to a courier. They will never ask you to purchase gift cards or gold.
Slow the situation down and verify all the information, said Barkley. Don’t hesitate to call local law enforcement if something seems off.
While elderly people are often a target, they aren’t the only ones susceptible to this, he noted.
“These scams can happen to intelligent and responsible people. They’re patient. They’re convincing. And they’re very, very skilled at manipulating fear,” said Barkley.
Barkley said this complex phone scam could be part of a larger fraud ring and more arrests could follow.
“If we put this all on a board, it would look like a spider web. It just keeps going and going.”