Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner lost approximately $240,000 after scammers impersonating a JPMorganChase banker convinced him to wire money to two business accounts, highlighting the risks of scammers targeting high-income consumers.
The scammers defrauded Turner in February, and the details of the case were laid out in a search warrant affidavit filed in Dakota County District Court last week and obtained by The Minnesota Star Tribune, which
American Banker could not independently verify the contents of the search warrant affidavit.
The scam unfolded on February 19, according to the Star Tribune. A caller impersonating a JPMorganChase banker told Turner someone was attempting to impersonate him at an Arizona branch and trying to execute a wire transfer.
The imposter then told Turner to transfer his money to two separate business accounts to thwart the theft attempt, according to the Star Tribune. Turner did so, believing he was securing his funds, by going to two separate JPMorganChase branches to transfer $120,000 each to Island Food Truck LLC and CNL FL LLC.
While speaking with a family member afterward, Turner realized he may have been the victim of fraud, according to the Star Tribune.
An officer with the Eagan City Police Department told the Star Tribune investigators had identified “several suspects” in the case and were moving toward filing charges. The officer also said that slightly less than $2,500 of the stolen money had been recovered.
Police asked JPMorganChase whether its internal investigation has determined how “the fraudster was able to obtain sensitive account details including Dallas’ full name, linked phone numbers and [his] LLC account info” and whether any bank employees played a role in the scheme, according to the search warrant.
The Minnesota Vikings team provides players three fraud trainings each year that include a combination of internal and external experts, according to the Star Tribune.
While the number of imposter scam reports decreased slightly from 860,000 in 2023 to 850,000 in 2024, the total amount of money lost to imposter scams increased from $2.7 billion to $3.0 billion, according to
