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This New Mexico news podcast episode features an educational discussion on avoiding financial scams, hosted by Gabrielle Burkhart with guest Brian Watson, a former federal law enforcement officer who spent 28 years investigating financial crimes, including work as an IRS criminal investigator. The segment addresses how scams—particularly phishing and online fraud—affect people across demographics, including older adults, and aims to help listeners and their families recognize red flags and protect themselves from increasingly sophisticated scams.

Scammers posing as federal agents convinced Alaina Weisman, a woman in her late 70s, to deposit $11,000 into a cryptocurrency ATM at a cannabis dispensary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by falsely claiming her bank accounts were compromised and the money would protect them. This initial scheme was the first of multiple frauds perpetrated by the same criminals that ultimately cost Weisman $159,000. Crypto ATMs are increasingly becoming the payment method of choice for scammers targeting victims through government impostor scams, romance scams, grandparent scams, and other schemes, as traditional methods like gift cards and payment apps face growing prot

New Mexico seniors reported losing over $17.7 million to scams in 2023, with the FBI receiving more than 750 complaints about elder fraud in the state. The most prevalent scam types include romance scams, tech support fraud, and cryptocurrency investment schemes, with scammers often posing as representatives from major companies or creating fake online relationships. The FBI recommends family members check in regularly with elderly relatives, watch for red flags like unsolicited calls from companies, and report suspected fraud immediately to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

In 2023, 759 New Mexico residents over age 60 lost more than $17.7 million to online fraud, with the costliest scams being confidence/romance schemes ($4.9 million), investment fraud ($4.6 million), and tech support scams ($3.1 million). The FBI emphasizes that older adults are vulnerable targets due to financial stability, potential isolation, and lower awareness of online threats, and urges seniors and families to educate themselves about these scams and report incidents through ic3.gov or their local FBI office.

In 2023, 759 New Mexico residents over age 60 lost more than $17.7 million to online fraud, with the costliest schemes being romance scams ($4.9 million), investment scams ($4.6 million), and tech support scams ($3.1 million). The FBI emphasizes that older adults are particularly vulnerable due to financial stability and potential isolation, and urges prevention through awareness and family education, with victims encouraged to report incidents to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

The Better Business Bureau of New Mexico warned consumers about Mother's Day scams, which typically begin with deceptive online advertisements promising deals that are too good to be true. Scammers exploit the holiday's high sales period by creating fake websites with unsecured connections, spelling errors, or mismatched business information, and they also target gift card purchases through tampering and draining schemes. The BBB recommended verifying business legitimacy, reading fine print for fees, ensuring secure connections, and keeping receipts when purchasing gifts.

Robert Louis Sanchez of New Mexico was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison as the fifth defendant in a grandparent scam that defrauded hundreds of victims across the United States, including Kentucky, of over $3 million between August 2020 and May 2021. The scheme involved callers convincing seniors that a grandchild needed emergency money, with co-conspirators posing as couriers to collect cash and launder proceeds through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. Sanchez served as both a courier and "safehouse" keeper for stolen funds, with four other co-conspirators previously sentenced to terms ranging from 6 months to 6 years in prison.

Robert Louis Sanchez, a 57-year-old from New Mexico, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a grandparent scam that targeted hundreds of elderly victims across the United States, resulting in over $3 million in losses. The scheme involved scammers calling seniors posing as grandchildren in distress (claiming car accidents or legal trouble) and then sending couriers to collect cash from victims' homes, with the money subsequently deposited in banks or laundered through cryptocurrency exchanges. Four other conspirators have also been convicted and sentenced, with charges pending against additional participants in the operation.

Scammers are targeting University of New Mexico (UNM) email account holders with phishing emails impersonating professors or supervisors, offering fake job opportunities (advertised as $4,500 weekly positions with limited openings) or requesting gift card purchases. The scams use pressure tactics and urgency to manipulate victims, with at least one UNM student falling victim. UNM officials advise recipients to watch for external email warnings and report suspicious messages to the IT Department.

Morgan Ortiz, a former New Mexico State Police officer, and Dr. Keith Levitt were indicted on 16 criminal charges for defrauding Medicaid of over $800,000 between March 2019 and April 2021 through a substance abuse recovery program they operated. The scheme involved identity theft of a physician, forgery, falsifying documents, and unlicensed medical practice. The case was investigated by New Mexico's Department of Justice Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division.

A former New Mexico State Police officer, Morgan Ortiz, and doctor, Dr. Keith Levitt, were charged with 16 counts including Medicaid fraud, identity theft, and document falsification for operating an unlicensed substance abuse recovery program in Albuquerque between March 2019 and April 2021. The defendants allegedly billed over $800,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicaid for services they were not credentialed to provide, exploiting vulnerable individuals struggling with substance use disorders.

Elizabeth Morse, a former office manager at Bedford Women's Care Associates in New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud for manipulating payroll systems between 2020 and 2023 to increase her own pay, fraudulently obtaining approximately $168,366.66. Morse, now residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, exploited her position of trust to access third-party payroll services and alter her compensation rate without authorization. She faces sentencing on February 26, 2025, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and has agreed to pay full restitution to the medical practice.

Four caregivers in New Mexico were criminally charged with elder and resident abuse within a year after multiple complaints were filed with the state Department of Justice's Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Division. The cases involved physical and verbal abuse of vulnerable victims—including a 7-year-old autistic student, disabled waiver recipients, and elderly nursing home residents—who lacked the capacity to report the abuse themselves; notably, Salomon Sanchez, who pleaded guilty to abusing a student in 2023, was subsequently hired at a disability group home where he allegedly assaulted a wheelchair-bound resident. All four defendants face potential sentences of up to 6 months in prison if convicte

Violent crime against seniors in the United States increased 331% over the past decade, prompting a shift in retirement planning toward safety considerations. Seniorly's analysis of FBI data and federal statistics identified New Jersey as the safest state for older adults to retire, followed by New York and Mississippi, while Colorado and Western states (Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico) ranked as the most dangerous due to high rates of elder fraud, property crime, and violent crime. The safest states were characterized by strong police presence, lower elder fraud rates, and better healthcare access, with East Coast states dominating the top 10.

Los Alamos is launching the S.A.F.E. (Scam Awareness For Elders) initiative, a community-wide effort to combat the rising prevalence of scams targeting elderly residents. The program, supported by a $9,000 grant from the Non-Metro New Mexico Agency on Aging, will provide educational programs, training workshops, and outreach activities, including a kickoff event on January 29 featuring an FBI presentation on scam prevention. Planned activities include a February workshop on romance scams and a monthly book club beginning in March to help older adults recognize and avoid fraudulent schemes.

The Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization (LARSO) launched the Scam Awareness for Elders (S.A.F.E.) initiative with a kickoff event on January 29, 2025, attended by 85 people, featuring a screening of the film "Thelma" and a scam prevention presentation by FBI Special Agent Ryan Davis. The spring 2025 program includes workshops on romance scams, AI literacy, and a book club focused on scam prevention, all offered free to the community through funding from the Non-Metro New Mexico Area Agency on Aging.

Nancy Marshall, a 58-year-old Las Cruces therapist and owner of Equine Assisted Programs of Southern New Mexico, was indicted on 18 felonies for submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims totaling $970,000 over two and a half years. The charges include fraud, Medicaid fraud, falsification of documents, and identity theft, with allegations that she billed for services never provided, billed for treatment of children who were in school at the time, and used other therapists' identification numbers for improper billing. The investigation was initiated by two employees who reported improper practices to authorities and could result in a prison sentence of up to 82.5 years

This educational article identifies New Jersey as the safest U.S. state for retirees based on FBI data analysis, citing low violent and property crime rates, minimal senior involvement in fatal accidents, and strong healthcare access. The article also lists nine additional safe states for retirement (New York, Mississippi, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut, Alabama) and warns against five states with higher risks of elder fraud, property crime, and scams (Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico).

A smishing scam impersonating New Mexico Bank & Trust attempted to deceive recipients with a text message claiming their account was on hold and directing them to click a malicious link hosted on Weebly. The scam contained multiple red flags including a non-local phone number, typos, misspelled words designed to evade spam filters, and a fake URL with the actual root domain being "weebly.com" rather than the legitimate bank website. The article emphasizes that recipients should verify sender information, scrutinize URLs, and avoid clicking links when messages create a false sense of urgency.

**Summary:** Scammers exploited compromised contractor accounts within Granicus's GovDelivery email system—used by U.S. federal and state governments to send official notifications—to send fraudulent emails impersonating government agencies in Indiana and New Mexico. The fake toll and payment scam emails, sent from official government addresses, contained malicious links directing recipients to phishing websites designed to steal personal and financial information. Granicus confirmed the breaches resulted from compromised user accounts rather than system vulnerabilities, but did not disclose the number of affected recipients.

Multiple states including Kansas, New Mexico, Missouri, and Oregon have warned residents about widespread text and email scams falsely claiming unpaid toll debts and threatening license suspension or legal action to pressure victims into revealing personal and financial information. Scammers are targeting states with no toll roads, and in Indiana's case, fraudulent emails posing as the state DOT requesting payment for TxTag balances were traced to a contractor's hacked account. Authorities recommend reporting suspected scam texts and emails to the Federal Trade Commission and Internet Crime Complaint Center.

A 36-year-old Canadian citizen, Jia Hua Liu, was arrested at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in July after a multi-state scam targeting elderly victims, with confirmed losses exceeding $309,000 across Indiana, Ohio, New Mexico, and Tennessee. In the initial Charlestown, Kentucky case, an elderly resident was defrauded of $27,000 after being tricked into withdrawing funds from his retirement account; three additional elderly victims in Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan were nearly victimized for an additional $70,000 before family members intervened. Liu was charged with theft, fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, and police believe there are

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Liu, was arrested on July 2 at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport for defrauding elderly people across multiple states. Liu targeted an elderly man in Charlestown who withdrew $27,000 from his retirement account in May, and investigators linked him to at least five additional victims in Indiana, Ohio, New Mexico, and Tennessee, with total losses exceeding $309,000. Liu faces charges including theft, fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, and authorities are seeking additional victims who may be in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Hua Liu, was arrested at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport after police connected him to impersonation scams targeting seniors across multiple states including Indiana, Ohio, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Liu allegedly defrauded victims of approximately $400,000 by posing as a Department of Treasury employee and convincing them to withdraw money from retirement accounts, with one documented victim losing $27,000. Police are continuing to identify additional victims and investigate co-conspirators believed to be in other countries.

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Hua Liu, was arrested in July after conducting a multi-state door-to-door scam targeting seniors across Ohio, Indiana, New Mexico, and Tennessee, defrauding victims of an estimated $309,000 total. One Charlestown, Indiana resident was tricked into withdrawing $27,000 from his retirement accounts and handing it over in cash; three additional attempted scams in Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan were prevented by family members, potentially saving another $70,000 in losses. Liu was apprehended at Louisville airport while attempting to flee the country and faces charges including theft, fraud, conspiracy, an

Technical support scams disproportionately affect elderly victims, representing approximately 60% of cases in Pima County, Arizona. A 62-year-old Green Valley man lost $53,000 after responding to a fake Bank of America text directing him to withdraw funds and mail them to Florida; authorities recovered the full amount by intercepting the packages in New Mexico. The Pima County Sheriff's Department reports 260 tech support scams out of 550 total fraud cases this year and advises residents to avoid clicking unsolicited links, never provide banking information to callers, and hang up immediately on suspected scammers before verifying any request directly with their bank.

The operators of Kids in Need of Support Services (KISS), a nonprofit after-school program in Silver City, New Mexico, were charged with submitting over $1.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services never rendered and committing identity theft using the Social Security numbers of dozens of children and adults in their care. CEO Susanne Kee and her daughter Bethanne Kee face multiple counts of fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy, with investigators finding evidence of impossible billing schedules (including psychotherapy claims for infants under 30 days old) and families confirming they never authorized or received the billed services. The investigation, conducted by the N.M. Department of

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against two operators of a nonprofit afterschool program in Silver City, alleging they submitted over $1.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services never provided and engaged in identity theft using social security numbers of both adults and children. The defendants, Susanne Kee and Bethanne Kee-Medran, face 91 combined counts of fraud and identity theft, with allegations including falsely representing psychological disorders to support the fraudulent billing scheme.

A 26-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico, April Guadalupe Hernandez, was charged with 19 counts of misconduct including nursing without a license, identity theft, abuse of a resident, and fraud for falsifying nursing credentials and stealing identities of nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas. Over one year, Hernandez worked at three hospice centers using different name variations, claiming to hold higher nursing credentials than she possessed, and made a potentially fatal medication error (an overdose of morphine) that was caught before administration; she has an arraignment scheduled for September 8th.

April Guadalupe Hernandez was indicted on 19 counts after impersonating nurses to provide care to hospice patients in New Mexico, allegedly stealing approximately $40,000 through fraudulent billing. Operating under a stolen identity, Hernandez mis-transcribed a medication order that nearly resulted in a fatal morphine overdose for one patient, leading to charges including identity theft, unlicensed nursing practice, fraud, and resident abuse.

A 27-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico was indicted on 19 counts including identity theft, elder abuse, nursing without a license, and Medicaid fraud after assuming the identities of licensed nurses to provide unauthorized hospice care while receiving approximately $40,000 in fraudulent Medicaid payments. The fraud scheme lasted over 18 months across three hospice facilities and resulted in a near-fatal morphine overdose to a patient; Hernandez faces up to 27.5 years in prison if convicted.

April Guadalupe Hernandez was indicted by a Bernalillo County grand jury for assuming the identities of licensed nurses and illegally providing hospice care, including mis-transcribing a medication order that nearly resulted in a fatal morphine overdose. Hernandez, a certified nurse assistant, allegedly stole the identities of three nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas to gain employment at three healthcare facilities over 18 months, defrauding them of approximately $40,000. She faces 19 charges including identity theft, nursing without a license, elder abuse, and violations of the Nursing Practice Act, with a potential sentence of up to 27.5 years in prison

A Caring.com report found that Indiana has the second-highest rate of senior fraud in the nation, with 76.9 complaints per 100,000 residents among people over 60, who collectively lost $4.8 billion to fraud nationally. Indiana experienced a 240% increase in fraud cases against older adults over three years, attributed partly to the state's growing elderly population projected to reach 20.1% by 2030. The report recommends seniors and families guard against pressure tactics, tech support scams (the most common type with over 17,000 cases in 2023), and cryptocurrency fraud schemes.

Indiana ranks second nationally for senior fraud complaints at 76.9 per 100,000 residents, with seniors age 60+ losing $4.8 billion to fraud nationwide in 2023. The state experienced a sharp 240% increase in elderly fraud complaints over three years, driven partly by its growing senior population expected to exceed 20% by 2030. The most common scams involved tech support impersonation, while cryptocurrency fraud proved most costly, with victims averaging losses exceeding $108,000 per case.

The New Mexico Department of Justice warned of online immigration attorney scams targeting vulnerable individuals through social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, where fraudsters pose as licensed attorneys offering immigration services. Scammers use real attorney names and license numbers, and request payment via Bitcoin, Venmo, or gift cards to appear legitimate. The department recommends verifying attorneys through Google searches, official contact numbers, the State Bar Association, and carefully reviewing all contracts before providing money or documents.