A Willow Springs woman lost $8,700 to a scam artist who claimed to be an attorney who could help her boyfriend get his release from an ICE detention facility in Michigan, police said.
Her boyfriend, who had recently arrived from Mexico, was taken into custody in September by ICE agents in Burr Ridge. He was then transported to the holding facility in Broadview, police said.
He later was moved on Sept. 30 to the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Mich., police said.
When he was there, he learned from a fellow detainee about an attorney who could allegedly help him earn his release, police said. He sent the information to his girlfriend who began the process, police said.
She contacted the alleged attorney in Los Angeles and he asked for multiple payments to pay for service fees, police said. It was later determined that the identity of a real attorney had been stolen by the perpetrator.
The woman made a $1,500 payment on Oct. 14, $750 on Oct. 15 and $3,450 on Oct. 30.
Then, an accomplice asked for and received $1,500, $750 and $750 on Nov. 3 to process the final payment, police said.
The woman was told to drive up to Michigan to meet with the attorney on Nov. 5, police said. She received texts during her drive, but hours went by and the attorney did not arrive, police said. The final text said the attorney’s flight had been delayed, police said.
There were no further texts and the woman soon realized she had been scammed, so she contacted the Willow Springs police on Nov. 6.
In addition to stealing $8,700, the scammers also were given the boyfriend’s passport and identification information, along with her children’s birth certificates and identification cards, police said.