Shawnee Couple Out Thousands After Being Scammed

A scammer promises an elderly couple in Shawnee $3 million and a new Mercedes Benz, but for a hefty price.  

Friday, August 14th 2015, 9:55 pm

By: News 9


A scammer promises an elderly couple in Shawnee $3 million and a new Mercedes Benz, but for a hefty price. 

That couple is now out of more than $7,000.

It all started last Saturday. Mary Gunter, 73, got a phone call about an unbelievable offer. It took her some time before she realized she was being scammed.

“I just got caught up in it you now, they told me that they were “USA Bill Promotion.”

But there's no such thing, and now Mary Gunter and 63-year-old Jim Winkleman are trying to figure out how to make up for the loss.

“We barely make it every month on our income because we’re both on social security. I’m on disability,” said Winkelman.

“First it was $250, I said, I don’t have $250, and he said well, you just need $125 and you can pick up your prize,” said Gunter.

But it didn't end there!

“Then he said, well, I need $5,445 for taxes,” said Gunter.

So, Mary put her car up for collateral to get a bulk of the money and then took out a $1,000 loan! 

But, after five days of phone calls with three different scammers, Mary realized the requests weren't going to stop.

We gave the scammer, who told us his name was David Fields, a call.

Right off the bat, he wanted $1,500.

“I’m just going to give you $1,500?” said News 9’s Evan Anderson. “Listen! It is for your shipping and handling, okay,” said the scammer.

“This is not a scam, this is not a gimmick, this is the real truth,” said Gunter.

That's exactly what he told us.

“David that sounds too good to be true. How do I know you’re not a scam,” said Evan. “Well, seeing is believing and lying is an abomination to the Lord, okay,” said the scammer.

“It’s tough for us to even make it, let alone get scammed out of our money, so be careful,” said Winkelman.

The couple did file a report with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and there is a detective working the case.  

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