A 70-year-old Michigan woman lost over $270,000 to a scammer posing as a government agent who threatened arrest over fake drug and money-laundering charges. She cashed out her and her late husband's pensions; police arrested a 30-year-old Sacramento man.
According to CBS Detroit, a March email purporting to be from the FTC claimed the woman's name was linked to a car containing a dead body and drugs. The scammer then told her she faced money-laundering and drug-trafficking charges, directed her to hand over gold, and later returned for cash.
She contacted police after the promised money was not returned. CBS Detroit reported police used community Flock camera footage to track down the suspect. Moneywise said it had not received an immediate response from police on whether the money was recovered. The FBI reported that Americans over 60 lost $7.7 billion to scams in 2025, the most of any age group.
