HOUSTON – A local coaching scam may soon have the attention of the Secret Service after a student-athlete agreed to provide private coaching lessons and days later lost thousands of dollars.
Memorial Villages Police Chief Ray Schultz tells KPRC 2′s Bryce Newberry the student-athlete wanted to make extra money in time for Christmas but ended up losing $2,000 of the money he thought he was being paid.
“This is already going in lots of different tentacles,” Schultz told only KPRC 2.
He said the scam started with a phone call from a mother claiming to have cancer who wanted lacrosse lessons for her 9, 11, and 13-year-olds.
She offered the teen an advanced e-check payment and asked him to use some of the money to pay the driver who would eventually drop her kids off at the lesson.
“He deposits it and it hits his bank account, so he figures, okay,” Schultz said.
The check was for $2,150 and it came from a bank in Hawaii.
The woman soon called back, claimed her kid was injured, and called off the lessons.
She asked for $2,000 back using an app like Apple Pay or Venmo and offered to let him keep the extra for his troubles.
The teen sent it over before realizing his bank had recalled the bad check, Schultz said. It all happened within a matter of two days.
As detectives started investigating and issued a subpoena, they found other coaches, also victims, who all had sent the same account at least $1,000.
One of the victims is in Ohio, Schultz said.
“It looks like some of the outbound money has been going to India,” he said. “It looks like this may not only be a nationwide problem, but it may have some international connections as well.”
That could be even more problematic for victims.
“Once the money leaves the United States ... from the cases we’ve worked in my experience, you know, it’s very slim you’re going to get it back,” said Gary Huestis, director of Powerhouse Forensics. “Talk to the bank, see if there’s anything suspicious. You know, let your financial institution know what’s going on.”
Police said it’s always important to know who you’re sending money to online.
“If you give money to somebody else and you find out it’s a mistake, most of the time, Venmo, those types of cash apps will not reimburse you,” Schultz said.
Memorial Villages Police are building a case and urge anyone who may have been a victim of a similar scam to contact their local police department.
Eventually, Schultz said they plan to present their findings to the Secret Service, aiming for federal prosecution, and hopefully an opportunity to recover some of the stolen money.