*UPDATED* Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force Intercepts Over $25,000 In Mail Scam

On 10-9-2025, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force regarding a package of cash that was recovered from a courier in North Mankato, MN.

The courier was tasked with having the package shipped but became suspicious regarding the package’s contents and contacted law enforcement.

Drug task force agents traced the case back to a local New Ulm bank and learned that the money was withdrawn by a Brown County Resident the previous day.

The owner of the money was contacted and interviewed by Brown County Sheriff Investigators on why so much cash was withdrawn from their account.

The victim stated the previous day, they were checking their bank accounts online when they received an “alert pop-up” on their screen, apparently from Microsoft. The alert directed the victim to call an 800 number regarding viruses on their computer.

The victim called, and an individual had the victim check various files in their computer. It is not known if the suspects took control of the victims’ computer or if they just solicited information based on their instructions.

The victim was told that their computer was attacked by hackers and that they could be criminally liable for the hacker’s actions.
Eventually, the victim was contacted by someone posing as a “fraud investigator” with their bank and told them a charge was made against one of their accounts. The fraud investigator convinced the victim to withdraw over $25,000 from the account and give it to a “U.S. Marshall” so they could keep the money safe in the Federal Reserve.

The victim packaged the cash and was told to meet the U.S. Marshall at a local New Ulm business. The victim met the supposed marshal and handed over the package of cash.

The man the victim gave her money to ended up being the courier who became suspicious and contacted law enforcement in North Mankato.
In this case, law enforcement was able to recover all the victim’s money which is extremely rare in cases like these.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office has investigated similar scams in the past year from Brown County residents who were convinced by scammers to withdraw cash, bank wire transfer money to an account or send funds via a Bit Coin kiosk commonly found at gas stations and convince stores.
These scams are complex and complicated whereas they enlist the help of unsuspecting individuals such as the courier in this case, or an individual willing to open a bank account for the scammers with the promise of receiving a reward themselves.

Scammers in these cases will give the impression that a transfer of a large sum of money will relieve the victim from some implied criminal liability. Brown County Sheriff’s Office has discovered that the threat of “child porn” being found on the victim’s computer is one of the many tactics used.
Scammers will also instruct the victim what to tell the bank teller when they are withdrawing the cash from their bank and warn them not to tell anyone about the money transaction, especially law enforcement or family members.

Brown County Sheriff’s Office Investigators know that many victims of these scams will not report it to law enforcement out of embarrassment or shame.

The Brown County Sheriff’s Office cautions anyone who is being asked to transfer a large sum of money either in cash, bit coin, bake wire transfer or gift cards based on problems with your computer or bank accounts, emergencies with distant family members, or online romantic connections to be extremely suspicious, take no action and contact your local police department or the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.

These cases are extremely hard to investigate and nearly impossible to identify a suspect and hold them accountable under Minnesota state law who is often calling from another part of the U.S. or another country. Education and deterrence are the best defense against criminal scams such as this.
The Brown County Sheriff’s Office would like to commend the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force for their diligent, investigative efforts that lead to the recovery of the victim’s money in this case.