PEORIA, Ariz. — A devastating scam cleared out a Peoria couple's bank accounts; now they are at risk of losing their home.
76-year-old Jean Ullery and her son JR spoke with 12News exclusively about how this all happened.
"It's humiliating," Ullery said.
On the first day of February, Ullery said she was on her computer when a message popped up. She described it as looking like an official message from Microsoft that told her to call the number provided because something was wrong with her computer. When she called, the person told her they found child pornography on her computer.
"I said, 'it's not possible,'" Ullery recalls.
She asked the scammer how they knew, but they said they wouldn't tell her. The person did, however, offer to take care of the situation if she paid them $55,000. If she didn't, she and her husband, Mike, would spend the rest of their lives in prison.
“I was terrified," Ullery said.
Overcome with fear for their safety, Ullery followed the scammer's instructions. She took out thousands of dollars from her bank and then drove to a Phoenix smoke shop on the west side of town with a Bitcoin ATM machine. Ullery said she had never heard of the cryptocurrency before but claimed the scammer told her to deposit the cash there and send it to them.
“He called almost every day,” Ullery said.
This went on for weeks. Ullery withdrew cash weekly and sent it to the scammer through Bitcoin. This entire time, she kept it a secret from her family. The scammer told her that she would go to prison if anyone found out what was going on.
“They said you cannot tell anybody this," Ullery said. “I wasn't allowed to talk to family.”
What started as $55,000 quickly grew, showing no signs of stopping. Ullery once said she sent $63,500 through an international wire transfer to China.
“I was told to tell them we were buying a cottage,” Ullery said.
The transfer was approved. In total, Ullery sent $163,000 and counting.
“I just kind of had a meltdown,” she said.
It may have continued until her son JR Ullery discovered what was happening when he went to her house at the end of February.
"I stumbled on it by accident," JR said.
He noticed their debit card had just expired and called their bank to get a new one. He said the bank immediately transferred them to their fraud department, who explained all the suspicious activity to JR.
The curtain was finally pulled back, and Jean realized what was happening. She said she immediately blocked the scammer's phone number. Regretting not asking for help about this sooner.
“I should have walked into the bank and said, 'This is what I've heard,'" Ullery said. "But I didn't because I was terrified.”
Her son also regrets not stepping in sooner, telling 12News he noticed his mom was struggling with something but couldn't figure it out.
"I feel horrible about that," JR said. "Probably the one thing I really kicked myself for; I should come over that day."
The Ullerys filed a police report with Peoria police but were told that because the money was transferred by Bitcoin, there was a slim chance they could get it back.
As for the wire transfer to China, they were told it could be four months; however, they may never see that money again.
Now, Ullery and her husband aren't able to pay their bills and are at risk of losing their home.
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