A woman from Georgia has been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in a scheme that defrauded victims in Missouri and Kansas by impersonating law enforcement officers.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, Ariel Burden, 33, participated in a group that contacted individuals using phone numbers made to look like they belonged to local police departments. The callers claimed to be law enforcement officers or affiliated with them and told victims they had outstanding warrants due to missed court appearances. Victims were threatened with arrest unless they paid thousands of dollars to a bondswoman.
The scammers maintained contact until the victims met with Burden, who used the alias “Jennifer Davis.” She collected payments and issued receipts containing false citation numbers and other misleading information.
One resident of Jefferson County, Missouri paid $12,000 after being told by the scammers—who claimed affiliation with Crystal City police—that arrest was imminent. In total, Burden admitted to defrauding three people out of $28,000. Judge Henry E. Autrey ordered her to repay the stolen funds.
Burden pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud. She will be transferred back to Georgia where she may face revocation of probation related to an aggravated battery case.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, along with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and McPherson Police Department in Kansas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf prosecuted the case.
