That’s a whole lot of cash
When the Minnesota Vikings report to training camp in Eagan two weeks from today, second-year linebacker Dallas Turner is going to show up a bit lighter. Not because of anything related to his workout regimen. . .we’re talking about his wallet.
Paul Walsh of the Minnesota Star-Tribune is reporting that Turner was the victim of a bank fraud scheme that cost him nearly a quarter of a million dollars. The total damage was $240,000 for an incident that happened back in February.
According to the story:
The affidavit states that Turner was contacted over the phone by an individual impersonating a JPMorgan Chase banker on Feb. 19, with the scammer claiming there was someone attempting to impersonate Turner at a Chase Bank branch in Arizona. The fraudster allegedly told Turner that the person in Arizona presented two forms of identification in order to execute a wire transfer.
“The caller instructed the victim to immediately transfer his funds to two separate business accounts to ‘protect’ them from the fraudulent activity,” the affidavit says.
Turner then went to two separate Chase Bank locations in the Twin Cities, one in Eagan and one in West St. Paul, and made two money transfers of $120,000 each. To date, Turner has recovered right around 1% of the money he was scammed out of.
The scammer somehow obtained a bunch of sensitive information about Turner, including his full name, phone numbers that were linked to him, and information about his LLC.
Per the Star-Tribune’s story, the Vikings provide their players with training about fraud three times a year, bringing in experts to warn them against potential dangers. In addition, both the team and the league provide services to players upon request when they are presented with a questionable situation.
Here’s hoping that the investigation into this matter bears fruit and that Turner is able to get his money back.