SAN ANTONIO – A Converse woman said she still is struggling after losing her life’s savings in a criminal scheme last October.
The woman, who asked not to reveal her identity, spoke to KSAT 12 News about the devastating case which cost her $22,000.
“I guess I was just easy prey for all that malarkey,” she said. “I just so badly wanted a friend and someone to trust, and I fell for all of it.”
The 78-year-old victim said she was still recovering from the death of her husband when she received a phone call from a man posing as a government fraud investigator.
“They said charges had been made against my debit card all over the United States and in Russia,” she said.
Worried that her bank account might be compromised, she said she willingly followed the advice of the stranger on the phone.
She said in a phone call that lasted the entire day, the man convinced her to withdraw her money from her bank, then turn over the cash to a woman named “Coco.”
The victim said she placed the cash in a box, then handed it over to the woman in the parking lot of a Walmart store on Toepperwein Road.
Converse police have since identified that suspect as Hiujie Ying, 44.
An arrest affidavit says video from Walmart showed Ying using a credit card to buy gas. It says police were able to trace that card to other purchases made in Houston, then obtain photos showing Ying making those transactions.
She was arrested in Houston about a week ago and booked into the Bexar County jail Tuesday.
The affidavit says at one point before her arrest, Ying managed to travel all the way to Canada before returning to Texas.
Police said it appears Ying was working with a group, preying upon seniors.
“He told me he knew I didn’t have any children, and he would be the son I never had. He told me he was going to come and visit me,” the Converse victim said, recalling how the man on the phone gained her trust.
So far, police said they have not identified who that man was.
Even with Ying’s arrest, though, the victim said she doesn’t find comfort.
“I was holding onto that $22,000 to use for expenses when I got older,” she said.
The victim said she even had to sell her car because she can no longer afford its upkeep.
She said she spoke out to warn others to avoid this same kind of trouble.
“Just hang up immediately. Don’t stay on the phone. Don’t listen to any of it,” she said.
The case is similar to those that local law enforcement agencies have been warning about recently.
Last week, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar held a news conference to discuss schemes that have bilked several women out of nearly $50,000 recently.
Salazar also announced his plan to help remedy the problem.
He unveiled his design for a warning sign he’d like to have placed on bank machines and in other places where people might withdraw money.
Salazar said he planned to take the issue to the San Antonio City Council in the hopes of passing an ordinance.
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