The Gillette Police Department is currently investigating two separate reports of possible fraud.
Detective Sgt. Eric Dearcorn said a 59-year-old man reported that since July, he has sent nearly $3,000 in money orders to an unknown person in Des Moines, Iowa.
The man told police he was originally contacted via email by Barjohn Williams, who instructed him to send a $950 money order in order to claim $12 million from an account of which the sender claimed to have power of attorney.
Since that initial contact, the man has sent an additional $2,000 via money order. His bank informed him it was most likely a scam when he went back to obtain another money order.
An unrelated fraud was reported at the south Subway around 11:30 p.m. last night.
In this case, Dearcorn said a 17-year-old female employee received a call from Joe Connell to inform her that two of the store’s managers were being investigated for stealing money and would be arrested the next day.
The caller instructed the employee to take the cash from the business to Walmart and obtain two gift cards in the amount of $415. After which, the caller instructed her to provide him with the card numbers via telephone and then destroy the cards.
According to Dearcorn, the employee did not fall victim to the scam. The caller continued to communicate with the employee via text, and even offered her a management job within the company in return for her assistance.
Dearcorn said another local fast food chain fell victim to a similar scam last winter in which the caller had even spoofed the number they called from to display the same number as the business’s headquarters.
No suspects have been identified in either case.
