MASON CITY – Two men are behind bars after police and bank employees thwarted a scam that cost a victim nearly $11,000.
Mason City police tell NIT that on May 18, 2016, a fraud was reported at a local bank. “A customer had been scammed into wiring a total of almost $11,000 to subjects out-of-state who claimed to be IRS agents,” police said. “The scammers allegedly threatened to arrest the victim if money was not immediately wired. Bank employees intervened before the victim could wire additional money and called police.”
Police embarked upon a months-long investigation. Finally, Mason City police officers then applied for arrest warrants for the two suspects: 22-year-old Coty Phillips and 41-year-old Eduardo Cruz.
On December 1, 2016, Coty Phillips was arrested in El Paso, Colorado.
Eduardo Cruz was arrested by Dallas County Texas authorities around January 10, 2017 on the local warrant. Both subjects were then extradited to Mason City to face trial. Each has been charged with once count of felony second-degree theft.
I am a victim of identity theft. Someone filed taxes using my name and ssn. It has been a nightmare for 3 years now. The main thing I learned is that the IRS will not call you. They only send letters telling the person to call them. I’m sorry this happened to these people.
This should be a federal offense as they were posing as IRS agents and money perhaps crossed state lines. They need to go after these guys with all the tools available.
Way to go MCPD! I just hope that after spending all the time and money to go after them, the courts do more than just give them probation.