2016 Howell Motor Vehicle Stop Leads To Scammed Idaho Woman: Police

HOWELL, NJ — It was a motor vehicle stop like so many Howell Township police make: A car pulled over because it had tinted windows.

But that motor vehicle stop would lead to the discovery of an international "lottery" scam; an elderly woman in Idaho who had been defrauded of $50,000, and an internet gambling website that was scamming her to pay their winners, Howell police said Tuesday.

The investigation, by Howell police and the FBI, began with a motor vehicle stop by Patrolman David Levine on May 18, 2016, Howell Detective Sgt. Christian Antunez said. Levine stopped a suspicious vehicle in the area of Route 9 and Estelle Lane for having tinted front windows, and during the stop, Levine found the driver had improper credentials for the vehicle and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Antunez said.

Levine sought help from K9 Officer Nicholas Bondarew and his partner Jago, who gave a positive indication as to the presence of controlled dangerous substances in the vehicle, Antunez said. It led to a search of the vehicle and the discovery of $2,071 cash and a handwritten “MoneyGram” for $1,000, from Costa Rica, made out to the driver, he said.

The driver gave conflicting stories regarding the money order and cash but eventually admitted both were winnings from an online gambling website. The MoneyGram and cash were seized pending the investigation, Antunez said, and the driver was released at the scene.

From there, Levine and Detective Anthony Romano worked on the investigation for months, Antunez said. Their investigation found the “MoneyGram" was one of 10 totalling $9,800 and they originated in a Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, and surveillance footage from the Walmart showed an elderly woman, later discoveread to be a 71-year-old fraud victim from Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. purchasing the MoneyGrams, Antunez said.

By searching the footage carefully, Romano and Levine identified the woman’s vehicle make and model, and Special Agent Edward Jacobson from the FBI office in Coeur D’Alene was able to identify the vehicle and the woman, Antunez said.

Jacobson interviewed the woman, who said she was called by a person identifying himself as “Special Agent Frank Anderson of the Department of Homeland Security,” who advised her that she won a drawing in England and had to prepay the taxes on her winnings before receiving it. The woman complied, purchasing approximately $50,000 in MoneyGrams over time and sending them where directed, including to Costa Rica, Antunez said. It was learned that the gambling website is using illegally obtained MoneyGrams (by defrauding unsuspecting victims) to pay the winners on their site, he said.

The Howell Police Department sought forfeiture on the $3,071 in cash and the MoneyGram seized by Levine at the stop, through the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and the money is being returned to the woman in Idaho, Antunez said; she did not know until investigators contacted her that she had been victimized, he said.

Police are withholding the names of the driver of the car and the Idaho woman to protect their identities; the driver was not charged with any crimes, Antunez said.

"We remind the public that the calls, emails, or any form of communication such as this are scams. Always be cautious and do not send money or payments anywhere before verifying its validity. Often, a quick internet search will identify scams unsuspecting people are being targeted with," Antunez said.

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