Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Woman Harassed During Series Of Scam Calls
Law enforcement officials initiated an investigation Friday after a Leoma woman reported she had been harassed and threatened during a series of telephone calls believed to be associated with a scam.
The victim reported she had received several calls from a man with a “thick Indian accent” who identified himself as Ricky Nerton. Nerton claimed to be a representative of Sander Legal Associates in California. He told the victim that she needed to send money to him in repayment of a loan, or else “officers would arrest her and throw her in a cell for two days.”
The victim told deputies she had never received the loan monies to which the man referred. Reports show she contacted the Better Business Bureau and was informed the law firm did not exist and that there was no lawyer by that name.
The victim reported she received numerous such harassing calls both at home and work. She said that the man become more abusive, often using racial slurs. During one call she reports the man became angry and told her he would “kill her mother.” She told the caller that her mother had been dead for fifteen years and he reportedly replied, “I know, we killed her.”
The victim said during one call she told the man that she was going to report the matter to the NYS Police and FBI, and he hung up.
Once, the victim said she told the caller that she worked for the Justice Department. He told her he would need to “check it out.” He then told her he had “made a wrong number.” The victim pointed out, however, that the man knew her full name and other information.
At this point the matter remains under investigation through the department’s Criminal Investigation Division.
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