SEQUIM — Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a sting operation and arrested a 35-year-old Tacoma woman on investigation of first-degree attempted theft and second-degree extortion.
Alla Mashkova remained at the Clallam County jail on Friday in lieu of $250,000 bond. She was booked on Wednesday following an investigation that found a 71-year-old Sequim woman had been scammed on three separate occasions out of a total of $125,000, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sequim woman called dispatch on March 2 to report she had been scammed. A deputy met her at her home and learned she had been contacted by a man who said he was from the Amazon Fraud Department, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The man transferred her to another man who claimed he was an agent with the Federal Trade Commission, and that man told the woman she was a suspect in a money laundering operation, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The “agent” convinced the Sequim woman that she had to provide sums of money to the Federal Trade Commission in order to prove her innocence, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The man convinced the woman to take tens of thousands of dollars in cash out of her bank, purchase a lockbox, wrap it in duct tape and deliver it to an “agent” who would be sitting in a vehicle at a Sequim business, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman was instructed to park away from the door and other people and wait for the “agent” to arrive in a vehicle, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The man told the Sequim woman she would be able to identify the “agent” in the vehicle be receiving a $1 bill from the agent with serial numbers that matched a photo the man sent her, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman provided photos of herself and her vehicle to the man so the “agent” would be able to identify her during the money exchange, the Sheriff’s Office said.
On each of the three occasions, the man implied the Sequim woman’s phone was tapped and instructed her not to tell anyone what was going on, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“This was an extremely well-organized and complex scam involving multiple suspects who controlled the victim through fear by threatening and lying to her,” the Sheriff’s Office stated in the press release. “Thankfully the victim’s bank manager alerted her that she was being scammed, which led to this investigation.”
Detectives took over the investigation an learned that the Sequim woman had been in contact with the man every day.
Deputies conducted the sting operation about 3:56 p.m. Wednesday with the assistance of the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team. The man had contacted the Sequim woman via text and phone calls and instructed her to place $40,000 in a box, photograph it and send the photo to the man, and wait for further instructions, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman complied, and a white Toyota Carolla pulled up next to her at a Sequim business. When the exchange was complete, deputies arrested Mashkova and interviewed her with the assistance of a Ukrainian-speaking interpreter, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The investigation is ongoing as there are multiple suspects involved, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“We wanted to encourage our citizens to remain vigilant about these types of scams,” the press release stated. “Do not hesitate to contact the Sheriff’s Office for assistance.”
The Sheriff’s Office can be reached at 360-417-2262 or online tip can be provided on the Sheriff’s Office website at https://secure.coplogic.com/dors/en/filing/submitreport?dynparam=1741977364772.
