This interview will be on “St. Louis on the Air” over the noon hour Friday. This story will be updated after the show. You can listen live.
Last year, Glenda Seim became the poster child no one wants to be: a senior who went from being the victim of a Nigerian scam artist to joining him in fraud. In November, the 81-year-old Kirkwood woman pled guilty to felony charges alleging she was a “money mule” who assisted in fraudulent transactions totaling as much as $1.5 million.
Seim was set to be sentenced in federal court on Feb. 24. And on Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, we’ll discuss her case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry, who handled its prosecution.
Joining the conversation will be journalist Ryan Krull. Last month, Krull detailed in a Riverfront Times cover story how scam artists preyed on dozens of older adults around the U.S. — and worked with two St. Louisans to convince the seniors to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to a pair of Berkeley, Missouri, P.O. boxes.
“Online scams are nothing new,” Krull writes. “According to CNBC, before the pandemic the Nigerian prince version of the scam was bilking people out of $900,000 a year. But amid the increased social isolation and mental-health pressures brought upon by COVID-19, the FBI says the online fraud industry has boomed.”
Has a loved one fallen prey to an online scam artist? Tweet us (@STLonAir), send an email to talk@stlpr.org or share your…
