PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Anyone who has been given
money-sized paper dyed in black should come forward because they’re
probably victims of a scam that has already claimed $170,000 from three
people in New England, authorities pleaded Thursday.
The U.S.
Secret Service called for victims of an international "black money"
scheme to step forward because they believe many more people have been
scammed.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said
Thomas M. Powers, U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge in
Providence.
Powers is making the push after authorities in
Providence last week arrested two Liberian nationals they say attempted
to scam an undercover agent. Scam victims are typically too ashamed and
embarrassed to come forward, but their knowledge is valuable to law
enforcement, Powers said. He cited cases in Vermont, New Hampshire and
Maine where victims contacted authorities, but declined to be
interviewed.
"We believe there are additional victims," Powers
said. He added the scheme is mostly taking place in Rhode Island and
Massachusetts and that investigators believe there are 20 scammers
involved.
Investigators say con artists convince victims to pay
for chemicals to wash bank note-sized paper they claim to be real
currency dyed black to avoid detection by customs officials. The
fraudsters claim they were forced from their country and cannot afford
the materials required to cleanse their cash, Powers said.
In a
case involving a Fall River, Mass,. auto body shop owner, one fraudster
claimed he was the driver for the president of Liberia, according to an
affidavit signed by Secret Service Agent Jon H. Ringel.
In other
cases, the scammers tell victims they need real currency to effect the
reaction that removes the dye. In the case involving the auto body shop
owner, they promised to turn his $100,000 into $300,000, the affidavit
said.
Powers said the con artists visit nightclubs and other
places, where they look for potential victims among people wearing
expensive jewelry or driving luxury cars. The auto body shop owner was
first approached by a con artist at a McDonald’s, where he was asked
about his Lamborghini, the affidavit said.
The fraudsters
demonstrate the cleansing process with a few genuine currency bills that
are used to trap victims, Powers said. An agent who witnessed the
cleansing demonstration said the process is convincing, he added.
Victims
withdraw money and provide it to the fraudsters who go to hotel rooms
to wash the cash, which is dyed with black shoe polish, Powers said.
The
washing solution is a mixture of chlorine, ammonia and laundry
detergent that is mixed in a bathroom tub and gives off a powerful smell
that usually overcomes victims to the point that they leave the
fraudsters alone with the money, which is later locked in a safe, Powers
said.
After the money is washed, the scammers and victims leave
the hotel for a meal. Powers said they leave the victims with the hotel
room and safe keys.
What they find in the locked safe, is usually black construction paper.
"The rate of return is zero," Powers said.
Investigators
also believe the con artists are working as a team, with people playing
different roles, Powers said. For example, one person will find
possible targets, while another will close the deal.
The con
artists are also brazen. Powers said in one case a victim was contacted
shortly after being scammed by a person who claimed he heard that the
washing process didn’t work on his money. That person told the victim he
could help him for $25,000 more, Powers said.
Authorities do not
know how the scammers are spending their ill-gotten gains or where their
orders are coming from. They said the scam is cyclical and now is
spreading out over New England.
Powers said most of the schemes are non-violent and there’s no evidence it’s tied to terrorism.
The
two men arrested by authorities are Anthony Chadheen, 31, of
Providence, and Alvin Pennue, 33, of Indianapolis. They are charged with
passing a fictitious obligation of the United States. No pleas have
been entered.
Chadheen is free on $5,000 bail. Pennue has been ordered held awaiting trial.
If convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.