Elder Fraud in North Dakota

Andrea Estell Cochran, a 51-year-old from Houston, was arrested and charged with federal bank fraud after using forged passports to impersonate account holders and withdraw approximately $11,000 from multiple banks across Washington state and Maine in 2024. She faces up to 30 years in federal prison plus additional state charges, with a plea deal hearing scheduled for August 28, 2025. A separate study by VPNPro found that seniors aged 60 and older across all U.S. states lost significant sums to fraud in 2022, with losses ranging from approximately $3 million to $31 million per state, highlighting the widesprea

Andrea Estell Cochran, a 51-year-old from Houston, was arrested and charged with federal bank fraud after using fake passports to impersonate account holders and withdraw approximately $11,000 from multiple Washington state banks in 2024, with similar attempts in Maine; she faces up to 30 years in prison and state charges across multiple Washington counties. Additionally, a VPNPro study reveals that seniors aged 60 and over across all U.S. states lost substantial sums to fraud in 2022, with per-victim losses ranging from $13,118 to $30,150 depending on the state, highlighting seniors as prime targets for scammers

North Dakota residents experienced the highest per-capita losses from romance scams and confidence fraud in the nation between 2021 and 2024, totaling over $16 million. Authorities attribute the vulnerability to limited fraud awareness, particularly among residents in isolated areas.

Recent CDC data indicates that approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ experience elder abuse annually. A comprehensive analysis of senior safety across U.S. states, measuring scam reports, homicide rates, violent death rates, and quality of life, ranked Massachusetts as the safest state for seniors (score: 89.96), followed by Minnesota (89.03) and Nebraska (88.78), with scam rates against seniors ranging from 95.5 to 141.1 reports per 100,000 people depending on the state.

A nationwide health care fraud takedown resulted in 324 defendants charged across the United States for schemes involving over $14.6 billion in false billings and illegal drug diversion, with authorities seizing over $245 million in assets. Four defendants were charged in the Eastern District of Louisiana, including the co-owner of a diagnostic laboratory who allegedly defrauded Medicare of approximately $4.4 million through over $30 million in false genetic testing claims, and a physician who billed Medicare approximately $24 million for medically unnecessary genetic testing. These schemes targeted Medicare and programs serving elderly and disabled populations through kickback schemes and fraudulent billing practices.

An anesthesiology resident at Seattle Children's Hospital and UW Medical Center was criminally charged with diverting narcotic medications (fentanyl and hydromorphone) for personal use over at least a year, sometimes while working and treating patients; simultaneously, Pinnacle Health PC, a Seattle medical practice, settled a civil case for billing over $500,000 to federal programs for experimental, unapproved treatments. These cases were part of a nationwide 2025 healthcare fraud takedown involving 324 defendants charged with $14.6 billion in alleged false billings and illegal diversion of 15 million controlled substance pills.

As summer travel increases, scammers are targeting vacation planners with fraudulent hotel deals that exploit people's excitement and desire for affordable getaways. Experts recommend booking directly through official hotel websites, researching thoroughly before providing payment information, checking the BBB website for legitimacy, using credit cards instead of debit cards, and being wary of deals offering discounts significantly higher than 10-15% off normal rates or websites with spelling errors and unclear policies.

Kenosha, Wisconsin residents are falling victim to a rising cryptocurrency ATM scam where scammers trick victims into depositing cash into bitcoin machines, with three victims losing a combined $60,000 in untraceable funds. Scammers pose as police, banks, or tech support and pressure victims with urgent demands for payment, sometimes instructing them to deposit specific amounts like $9,500 into crypto ATMs. The Kenosha Police Department advises residents to hang up on suspicious calls, refuse urgent money demands, never use crypto ATMs, and is calling for state regulations similar to Minnesota and North Dakota that limit daily crypto ATM deposits to $2,000.

Following a joint investigation, Western Union agreed to pay $586 million and admitted to aiding wire fraud, with the U.S. Department of Justice using these funds to refund victims of various scams (employment, romance, grandparent, advance fee loan, and timeshare schemes) who transferred money through Western Union between January 1, 2004, and January 19, 2017. Fraud victims have until May 31 to file claims for refunds, though the verification and payment process may take up to a year, and refunds will depend on the amount lost and the total number of valid claims submitted.

The Better Business Bureau warns that scammers are creating fraudulent websites claiming to offer REAL IDs online without requiring in-person DMV visits, capitalizing on confusion and urgency as the federal REAL ID requirement took effect on May 7, 2025. To obtain a legitimate REAL ID, applicants must visit their local DMV in person with required documentation; consumers should avoid any online offers and never provide bank account or credit card information. The BBB advises reporting suspicious websites to the BBB Scam Tracker.

According to the FTC's 2024 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book, while younger people (ages 20-29) report fraud more frequently than seniors, adults aged 70 and older experience significantly higher median losses, with those 80+ losing a median of $1,650 per incident and seniors collectively losing $2.3 billion in 2024. Overall fraud losses in the United States reached $12.5 billion in 2024 (a 25% increase from 2023), with business imposters and government imposters being the most common scams targeting older adults, followed by tech support and lottery scams.

Grand Forks Public Schools fell victim to a phishing scam in August when staff members transferred approximately $2.2 million to a fraudster posing as a construction vendor, resulting in a net loss of $842,730 after recovery efforts and insurance payments. The scam highlights the increasing prevalence of phishing and other online fraud schemes targeting both individuals and public entities, with the FBI reporting 298,878 phishing complaints in 2023 alone. The article emphasizes that phishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and persuasive, affecting people of all ages and backgrounds, and urges the public to exercise extreme caution with online transactions.

In November, a 66-year-old retired health care worker in Hilton Head, South Carolina, lost $7,500 in a crypto scam after someone impersonating a sheriff's deputy claimed she had missed jury duty and threatened jail time, directing her to deposit cash into a Coinstar ATM that converted it to cryptocurrency. The scam represents a growing trend targeting seniors through crypto kiosks, with Beaufort County reporting $3.1 million in crypto scam losses to law enforcement in the past year alone, prompting calls for stronger fraud prevention measures by cryptocurrency ATM operators and legislators.

Cryptocurrency ATM scams are rising, with criminals exploiting poorly regulated "crypto kiosks" to steal hundreds of millions of dollars annually by tricking victims into depositing cash via fraudulent QR codes. In 2023, the FBI recorded over 5,500 crypto kiosk complaints totaling $189 million in losses, with North Dakota alone losing more than $6 million. North Dakota House Bill 1447, which passed both chambers and awaits the governor's signature, would establish consumer protections including operator licensing, daily transaction limits, fraud warnings, fee disclosures, and transaction receipts to help prevent these crimes and aid law enforcement investigations.

Two Maryland men were sentenced for operating a romance fraud scheme targeting elderly women on social media, where they impersonated U.S. military members deployed overseas to convince victims to send money for fabricated emergencies. Chinedu Ikenna Nwafor received 25 months in prison and was ordered to pay $180,000 in restitution, while Vitus Uzoma Uzowuru received 10 months time served and $50,000 in restitution; one North Dakota victim lost $200,000 across two transfers to the co-conspirators. A third defendant faces trial for similar wire fraud charges involving an $800,000 loss to another North Dakota