SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police have interviewed not one, but two people who say they were tricked into giving a man tens of thousands of dollars, believing he was a cryptocurrency investor.
The first victim, an Uber driver, told police a passenger he picked up claimed to work for a company out of Scottsdale, Arizona that traded cryptocurrency. Over the course of seven months, the victim ended up sending close to $20,000 through Apple and Google Pay. He asked to withdraw $2,000 from his "account" to pay for taxes and when he went to cash the check, it bounced and the suspect went radio silent.
Known as "Crypto Mike" by the victims, police believe he scammed another person out of even more money. A woman came forward with a similar story and said she met the suspect playing poker at Northern Quest.
She told police she sent nine payments, totaling nearly $85,000. When she asked for $10,000 back, the suspect sent $3,000 and disappeared.
According to the search warrant, police in Phoenix believe the same man conned an Arizona resident out of $18,000 using the same scam. Authorities believe the man has since left Spokane and could be living in Tennessee.
Those court documents also show that this man has a warrant out of Los Angeles for theft over $400.
Police believe "Crypto Mike" has left the Spokane area. While he is suspected of criminal activity, he has yet to be formally charged as the investigation is ongoing.
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