Missing Woman, 69, Gave $4K to Scammers Before Being Found by Police

Sierra Madre resident Enayet Bargen's husband reported her missing after she turned off her cell phone at the behest of the conmen

A police hunt was launched Thursday for a woman who was duped by an IRS scam.

Sierra Madre resident Enayet Bargen's husband reported her missing after she turned off her cell phone at the behest of the conmen. 

By the time the 69-year-old was found she had handed over $4,000 to the thieves, who had told her they worked for the Internal Revenue Service. She was told she would be arrested within the hour if she did not get the cash.

"She is an outstanding citizen in the community who just wanted to do what the government was telling her to do," Chief Larry Giannone of Sierra Madre Police Department said, "They told her turn your phone off, you just call us back… so we were not able to track her by her phone (and) her husband and family were not able to get a hold of her."

The scammers told her to use the money to buy Green Dot prepaid debit cards. Confusingly, labels on a store display show them as being compatible with tax refunds.

Chief Giannone said 50 people in his area had been contacted Thursday, which makes investigators believe the swindlers were calling everyone in the area they could. He warned others not to fall for the scam.

"(The) IRS will never call you and tell you they're coming to arrest you in an hour," Chief Giannone said.

Dorothy Raymond was one of those who were contacted by the con artists.

"It's very convincing. It started off, 'This is the second time we called you and if you don't respond right away we won't be able to help you get out of whatever serious trouble it was.'"

So far, only two people are known to have fallen for the ruse, with another victim handing over $2,000, though police are sure there were other victims taken in by the swindle. 

Contact Us