This week, NBC CT Investigates told you about a new kind of crime happening called “pig butchering” – where police say online predators overseas have lured investors here into fraudulent schemes – and they have lost thousands of dollars.
This week, NBC Connecticut Investigates told you about a new kind of crime happening called “pig butchering" - where police say online predators overseas have lured investors here into fraudulent schemes - and they have lost thousands of dollars.
It turns out the same day our report was airing, police in another town made an arrest in what they call a similar case.
We originally profiled an East Windsor man in his 70s who said he fell victim to a pig butchering scheme, where he kept giving more and more money to an online trading platform that he lost access to.
This included him giving $70,000 cash to a courier who showed up at his home.
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We have now learned of a similar case just one town over, in South Windsor.
Police say they conducted a sting operation and arrested a 42-year-old Brooklyn, New York, man who was in town to pick up $20,000 in cash from a 90-year-old man.
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Investigators explain pig butchering compounds operate in southeast Asia and based on what they have found in this South Windsor case, this fraud has similarities to the one in East Windsor.
South Windsor Police Lt. Mark Cleverdon said, “The dollar amount was almost similar, in a sense it was around $70,000 they were asking for over the period of time. Very similar in a sense that a courier arrived of an Asian descent to pick up that money. So certainly a lot of similarities that we were able to relate to this as to the one that you had previously spoken to that individual about.”
Police said the South Windsor man also gave the alleged schemers $49,000 earlier this week.
Investigators add that if you think something like this has happened to you, contact local or state police immediately.