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Lights & Sirens

Go behind the yellow tape with The News Tribune

Tag: scam

Feb.
5th

Charges filed against scam artist “Senora Monica,” who claimed she could cleanse money

Charges were filed today against a woman accused of scamming 16 people – many Hispanic – out of nearly $140,000 last summer.

Senora Monica had promised the families she would cleanse their money of evil. She took their cash and then never showed for a final session with the families.

Turns out Senora Monica is really Tanya Sanchez Michel.

Pierce County prosecutors charged the 32-year-old woman on Friday with nine counts of first-degree theft, five counts of second-degree theft and two counts of third-degree theft.

Pierce County prosecutors also charged her husband, Jimmy Colon Michel, with 16 counts of thefts.

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Nov.
25th

SCAM ALERT: Tacoma woman didn’t fall for call from “grandson” in need

Tacoma police are warning residents of a telephone scam after a 77-year-old woman was nearly duped into sending money to Canada earlier this week.

The Tacoma woman got a call from her “grandson” and an “Edmonton police officer” on Tuesday afternoon. They claimed the grandson had gotten into a wreck in Edmonton, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

They claimed the grandson needed $2,500 wired to him so he could fix his rental car and come home.

The scam artists had enough factual information about the grandson and the victim to initially keep her on the phone, Fulghum said.

“The

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Oct.
23rd

Woman charged with scamming six people, stealing belongings

Tacoma police have arrested a 35-year-old woman suspected of using a ruse to get into the homes of six victims, many elderly, and then stealing their purses, wallets, identification cards and jewelry.

Yolanda D. Pouncey has been charged with 15 crimes - first-degree burglary, theft, identity theft and six counts of residential burglary. She was arraigned Thursday and is being held in Pierce County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Prosecutors have charged Pouncey with crimes against six victims. The victims range in age from 56 to 94 and live in Tacoma and Puyallup.

Charging documents indicate Pouncey operated in a

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Sep.
23rd

Be wary of door-to-door salespeople, cable TV outlet warns

Click! is warning customers to use caution when dealing with door-to-door salepeople.

Here’s the press release from the cable TV provider.

Click! Cable TV has received several calls from concerned customers who have questions about the validity of door-to-door salespeople representing cable television competitor Comcast.

“I have talked to Comcast and verified that the company does have a door-to-door sales campaign going on right now,” said Diane Lachel, Click! Network government and community relations manager. “The description of some of the people who are knocking on our customers’ doors, however, does not seem to match the type of person that

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Aug.
26th

SCAM ALERT: E-mail looking for someone to take dying widow’s money

This smells of a scam.

The below e-mail came in to The News Tribune’s newstips e-mail account this afternoon. The subject line was “Respond Asap from hospital.”

Attn
As a matter of urgency my patient Mrs Lena Morrison  a widow a German born American citizen is at the point of death here in Dubai Hospital. She made an oral WiLL earlier this morning for her bond investment of £5.878.678  with one of the bank here in Dubai . She mandated me as her Doctor to find a good American citizen man or woman whom will make use of this

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