Con Artists Rip Off Westlake Woman

WESTLAKE, OH — A Westlake resident was targeted in a scam this week. A con artist posed as a member of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's office to convince the resident to pay off arrest warrants using gift cards.

At 5:30 p.m. on June 7, a Westlake woman called police and said she believed she was the victim of a scam. The woman said she got an unexpected call from a man claiming to be "Sergeant Rich" from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's office.

Sgt. Rich told the woman she had two warrants out for her arrest because she had missed her grand jury appearance obligations. The woman knew nothing about being called for a grand jury, but the caller threatened to arrest her.

The woman was talked into buying thousands of dollars of gift cards to get rid of the arrest warrants. Westlake police said the woman has lost that money and will not be able to recover it.

Westlake police contacted the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's office, which said they were aware con artists were posing as sheriffs.