After identifying dozens of victims, he arrests two suspects who’ve been acting as money mules.
(MUSIC SEGUE)
[00:00:05] I had credit cards maxed out.
I says, “I have nothing else to sell to make money and get money for you.”
He says, “Well you got your home there.”
I says, “The one I’m living in?”
He says, “Yes.”
He says, “Sell it.”
[00:00:28] Bob: Go rent a hotel room!
[00:00:30] Yeah, and so at that point I got angry.
[00:00:41] Bob: Welcome back to The Perfect Scam.
I’m your host, Bob Sullivan.
And he’s in Atlanta.
[00:01:29] Bob: That’s US Postal Inspection Service Investigator, Cory McManus.
[00:01:34] Cory McManus: Wisdom was a very suave guy.
This is how you do it."
[00:02:00] Cory McManus: Yes, yep.
[00:02:00] Bob: Yeah, being hotbeds for romance scam operations.
That’s not how I envision it at all.
[00:02:06] Cory McManus: Yeah, Atlanta is very active in regards to fraud.
[00:02:36] Bob: The strikers coughed up other leads too.
Information that made that road a little bit shorter.
[00:03:05] Bob: Oh my God.
So a lot of these accounts are only open for a very short period of time.
That’s how the Beverly Hawes interview came out because we sent out further subpoenas.
[00:04:03] Bev Hawes: Yes, we were about 10 months shy.
[00:04:15] Bob: Bev and her husband met and got engaged within a few days.
[00:04:20] Bev Hawes: We met and went out on a Saturday night.
[00:04:34] Bob: Eight days!
[00:04:35] Bev Hawes: Eight days.
[00:04:42] Bev Hawes: Yes, I, I became a widow at 68 years old.
I mean obviously you’ve been with this man almost all of the life that you remember.
That must have been really hard.
[00:04:55] Bev Hawes: Right, no, it really wasn’t.
We were soulmates, we were truly soulmates.
[00:05:28] Bob: Oh my God!
You talked for 14 hours.
[00:05:31] Bev Hawes: I know.
[00:05:31] Bob: Wow.
And if you feel that way, here’s my email address.
You contact me."
And I say, yeah, I did.
“Then why are you going to delete him?”
That was the only reason I continued to go on.
[00:06:00] Bob: Chatting with this man is exciting and enchanting.
He had an Irish accent.
I wanted to continue with that, and he was all for that.
So…
[00:07:02] Bob: He really seemed like the answer to a prayer.
[00:07:04] Bev Hawes: He did.
He, you know he was looking for somebody.
[00:07:18] Bob: William sounds perfect, ideal.
[00:07:22] Bev Hawes: He sent me little gifts.
You know, “Love you to the moon and back,” and things like that.
And you know just various little sundry items.
He sent me an engagement ring directly from the, the jewelers.
[00:07:42] Bob: Ooh, I mean did, you were engaged then.
[00:07:44] Bev Hawes: Yes.
So we were engaged.
[00:07:47] Bob: Bev dreams about a grand future with William.
He had a home supposedly in Ireland.
[00:08:37] Bev Hawes: They had an explosion.
[00:08:39] Bob: Oh wow.
So whoever got the deposit down first was the one that would get it.
From Turkey, let’s see… so and it was $200,000.
[00:09:13] Bob: Oh wow.
[00:09:14] Bev Hawes: Yes.
[00:09:16] Bob: So did he ask you for all $200,000?
Can you help me?"
[00:09:25] Bob: How, how did you feel about that?
You know we talked every day.
Took a, a $50,000 hit on it.
[00:10:10] Bob: Oof.
[00:10:16] Bev Hawes: Oh, I needed more.
I ran my credit cards.
I have I think three credit cards; I ran those up to their max.
One was 15,000, one was 10,000.
And again, I had savings because I was debt-free.
[00:11:19] Bob: Oh my God.
I says, “I have nothing else to sell to make money and get money for you.”
He says, “Well you’ve got your home there.”
I says, “The one I’m living in?”
And he says, “Yes.”
He says, “Sell it.”
[00:12:32] Bob: Go rent a hotel room?
[00:12:34] Bev Hawes: Yeah, and so at that point I got angry.
And I said, “You know, I have done everything I can.
[00:12:42] Bob: Bev disconnects and never talks to William again.
But Bev isn’t having it.
I gave them information and told them what the situation had been.
Could they hey confirm or deny that he was in debtor’s prison?
And got back that they didn’t even know who this guy was.
[00:13:23] Bob: And at that point she decides it’s time to involve law enforcement.
And I said, “Yes, ma’am.”
[00:14:15] Bob: The checks weren’t headed to an Irish man named William.
Bev doesn’t know it yet, but they were really headed to Atlanta, to Wisdom Onyobeno.
And now Cory and other federal investigators are hot on his trail.
It’s been six months since Cory first interviewed Donna.
We heard her story in part one of this episode, and Cory now connects with Bev Hawes.
We were able to get into more bank accounts to further uh push our case along farther.
So I reached out to her.
[00:15:21] Cory McManus: So we wound up executing the warrants at Wisdom’s residence in Atlanta.
It was a very expensive townhouse, yes.
Yeah, they, they lived a very nice life of luxury.
Uh, he had two Mercedes in his driveway, yes.
[00:15:34] Bob: Hey, he was living well.
[00:15:36] Cory McManus: He was living a pretty good life.
[00:15:37] Bob: Was he surprised when you showed up?
[00:15:39] Cory McManus: To be honest, no.
He um, was very calm, collected, wasn’t worked up.
[00:15:52] Bob: What took you so long, something like that?
[00:15:54] Cory McManus: Yeah, yeah.
He was, he was aware the Dominique Golden was arrested in September.
He knew that she got arrested, that it was eventually going to fall on him.
[00:16:40] Cory McManus: Correct, yeah.
[00:16:42] Bob: And in fact, even after his arrest, the scams don’t stop.
[00:17:04] Bob: So he’s in prison still running a romance scam.
[00:17:07] Cory McManus: Yes.
[00:17:08] Bob: That’s just amazing.
[00:17:09] Cory McManus: Yeah.
[00:17:10] Bob: Honestly, it’s one of the, like how can that be?
[00:17:12] Cory McManus: Yeah, that’s a, that’s a good question.
That work falls to Assistant US Attorney Denise Barton, also in Rhode Island.
[00:17:35] Denise Barton: Yeah, you know it’s, it’s tough.
We can’t just touch the phone and it magically produces all the evidence.
And then of those companies, there’ll be multiple bank accounts opened in each of those names.
So it’s sprawling process.
[00:19:20] Denise Barton: That was never fully known.
[00:20:01] Denise Barton: I, that’s what some of the victims had said.
Where now she said she has a daughter.
Her dog is named Rover.
[00:20:51] Denise Barton: Correct.
[00:20:52] Bob: Yeah.
That’s why I sound different.
[00:20:56] Denise Barton: Right, or I can’t talk, but let’s text.
[00:21:10] Bob: You just said a mouthful, I have to say.
[00:21:13] Denise Barton: Yeah.
She never misses a court date.
I said, “I’ll fly to Rhode Island.
You tell me what to do, I’ll be there.”
[00:22:06] Bob: It sounds so exhausting to go through this over and over.
[00:22:08] Debbi Crisp: It is very exhausting, and it continues to be exhausting.
[00:22:23] Debbi Crisp: It’s everybody, you know.
You know and for me, that’s like, no.
You know this is not right.
This is, this is not right.
[00:22:54] Bob: Slowly but surely, the wheels of justice turn.
Golden pleads guilty in 2022 and is sentenced to 78 months in prison.
A year later Mills pleads guilty too.
Debbi wouldn’t miss his sentencing hearing.
Here’s part of the victim impact statement that she read.
They chose to take advantage of a woman who had lost her husband and was very lonely.
They created such humiliation and embarrassment within her heart.
Tears of anger for what I hope will happen to these people for taking advantage of my mom.
[00:24:17] Debbi Crisp: I’m so sorry.
[00:24:19] Bob: No, take all the time you need.
[00:24:21] Debbi Crisp: “My mom was scammed out of over $400,000.
[00:24:56] Bob: Did Wisdom ever look at you while you were giving your statement?
[00:24:59] Debbi Crisp: No, he put his head down the entire time.
Put his head down the entire time.
[00:25:12] Cory McManus: It’s just heartbreaking.
You know people don’t understand the toll it has on people financially and emotionally.
So it’s, it’s just awful just the human aspect and the financial aspect.
That’s 10 years and one months.
[00:26:43] Bob: Did that provide you with any kind of closure?
[00:26:47] Debbi Crisp: Um, it does.
It still does not make the fact that how hurt I am from it go away.
And I’m sure that will come in time.
[00:27:29] Denise Barton: There’s a satisfaction in that we’re able to provide some closure.
It still is tough in these cases because you inevitably cannot make the people whole again.
And she was very methodical about keeping everything.
[00:28:38] Bob: Oh, God.
You’re still finding things.
(chuckles) You know, and it does.
It feels like it never goes away.
[00:28:47] Bob: And unfortunately, the financial implications aren’t going away either.
[00:28:56] Debbi Crisp: Yes.
[00:28:57] Bob: Oh my God.
They came and picked it up, and there was like a gap of $3000.
Oh yeah, they tried to come back after me.
[00:29:23] Bob: Debbi is still trying to move on anyway.
And the end of all those court cases is a big help.
[00:29:45] Bob: Been on the mission the whole time basically.
[00:29:47] Debbi Crisp: I’ve been on a very big mission.
And my mom and dad are buried there.
And I’m hoping for my own that at some point in time I’ll get to that point.
It’ll get there.
[00:30:50] Bob: For Bev Hawes, the pain of her scam also lives on.
[00:30:54] Bev Hawes: Oh yeah.
I was, I mean I was, I had lost everything.
[00:31:09] Bob: And you had, you had a big tax bill too, right?
I didn’t make any money.
It went right out the door.
I didn’t see a cent.
And they informed me that no, I wasn’t going to get it.
I was in fact going to get cut.
And so I was going to get probably $250 less than I was getting then.
[00:32:05] Bob: Oh, it just feels like one punch to the stomach after another.
And you’re like, “What do you mean you’re at work?”
“Like I had to get a job.”
And I’m like, “You’re 80 years old.”
And they’re like, “Yeah, I have no money.
Like I have to go get a job.”
And the guy’s 80 years old, and I was like, this is like unbelievable.
[00:32:46] Bob: I’m a federal prosecutor, no less, right?
[00:32:48] Cory McManus: Yeah.
We told that story in part one.
That person was the first victim Cory heard about.
Like what’s going on?
This isn’t adding up.
[00:33:30] Bob: Also, criminals will do anything to steal.
There is no bottom.
Here’s just one example.
She’s got no kids.
She’s got really no family support system.
So we tell them, you know, don’t answer the phone calls.
[00:34:04] Bob: So Cory’s main piece of advice, just ignore surprise outreach from anyone.
[00:34:10] Cory McManus: If you don’t recognize the phone number, don’t answer it.
If it’s important, they’ll leave a voice mail.
You know social media’s another big thing.
Having an open profile on Facebook can be used against you for social engineering.
So you know only accept friend requests from people that you actually have physically met, you know.
And just constantly just stay, stay educated about the different types of scams; they’re always evolving.
That sometimes makes it really hard for victims to open up.
And she will successfully get some of the victims to have family members join them on calls.
[00:35:56] Bob: What does Denise hope listeners learn from this story?
You know, pause.
Talk to a friend.
Ask them what they think.
You know ask a trusted friend or family member.
You know does this smell right?
Is something off about this?
If they need the money they can wait a day, they can wait two days.
You know give yourself a moment to think about it before you do it.
[00:37:23] Bob: Talking about the crime, coming forward is absolutely essential.
[00:37:29] Denise Barton: There’s no reason to feel that you’ve done anything wrong.
There’s no reason to be embarrassed.
They will morph in many different ways throughout the duration of my career, I’m sure.
And we don’t minimize it all.
[00:38:41] Bob: So what does come forward look like in a practical sense?
[00:38:49] Denise Barton: They could pick up the phone and call their local police department.
There is also the FBI has an online portal you’re free to report to.
[00:39:07] Bob: That’s the Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.org.
[00:39:20] Denise Barton: Oh yes.
It might be a bad day and it might be busy.
That’s fine too.
[00:41:02] Bob: Bev Hawes wants to leave people with some advice.
Do not contact them.
Block them, do whatever you might.
Because they’re only after your money.
And you know, unfortunately that’s what it is.
You know we’re coming down to evil vs. good and evil wants your money.
There’s no relationship as far as they’re concerned.
It’s all a money proposition, and you know I’ve learned that.
So I have be–, become much less trustworthy.
[00:42:04] Bob: And how is Bev now?
[00:42:06] Bev Hawes: I’m still trying to get myself out of this predicament.
I’m getting to a point where between now and two years now, I should be debt-free again.
[00:42:43] Bob: Oh, can I encourage you to do that?
I think that’s a great idea.
If I had known, trust me, I would have been all over my mom like crazy.
But in my mind, I never thought she would do something like that.
And so this is not just, or as anybody who’s lonely.
[00:43:49] Bob: And anyone can be lonely.
So anyone can go through this.
[00:43:52] Debbi Crisp: Anyone.
Watch what’s around you.
Always be paying attention.
[00:44:09] Bob: Always watch what’s going on around you and pay attention.
For The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
Call the AARP Fraud Watch connection Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next.
That address again is: theperfectscampodcast@aarp.org.
Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
For AARP’s The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
