An international fraudulent re-mailing scheme with a link to Forest Lake has been dealt a setback.

Forest Lake police this month, acting in concert with the Secret Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, intercepted $1.2 million in counterfeit bank and postal money orders, plus $1000 in counterfeit $100 bills. Police here said the counterfeit money orders were to be delivered to a Forest Lake private residence where they would be mailed to third parties in Canada and Germany. The Forest Lake party would use the counterfeit cash to mail more than 60 pre-addressed packages and keep the balance for her effort.

Once delivered to the third parties, the fake money orders would be cashed and the real currency would be sent to a fourth party in Nigeria. The third party senders would keep 20 to 30 percent of the proceeds for their participation, police said. The third party particpants, however, would likely face criminal charges and financial liabilities when banks eventually determine that the money orders were counterfeit.

In Forest Lake, a local woman fell victim to what police call an Internet scam through a chat room in myspace.com. The woman was involved in a one-year online romance with a man who solicited her involvement in the money laundering scheme.

After U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted the Forest Lake delivery, city officers and Secret Service agents went to the home. The woman has cooperated fully with authorities and will not be charged, Chief of Police Clark Quiring said.

The incident, Quiring said, is a reminder to the public to be cautious with online requests for personal information of any kind that could result in the person being pulled into a work at home business opportunity that is not legal.

Top of Page