An elderly Delaware couple has told the painful story of how they lost $1.4 million in an elaborate six-month scam.
Lana Browne, 82, and her husband Ed were coerced by scammers posing as Homeland Security who claimed to be tracking their movements and banning them from speaking to family.
The couple was under the illusion that their bank accounts were being targeted by international cybercriminals in China, Russia and Bolivia.
They were convinced they would have to drain their savings and investments, which were earmarked to finance possible future hospice care for Ed, 91, who has tongue cancer. Now they rely on Social Security benefits and a small pension from Ed, a former IT worker, to survive.
The astonishing story exposes the devastating losses suffered by elderly fraud victims. The FBI estimates that seniors lose $3 billion annually to financial scams — although the numbers are difficult to come by because many are too ashamed to admit they’ve been scammed.
Lana and Ed Browne (pictured together) lost $1.4 million in an elaborate six-month scam in which fraudsters posed as Homeland Security, claimed to be tracking their movements and banned them from speaking to family
And it comes after three victims came forward to say they lost life-changing amounts of money to criminals claiming to be from Wells Fargo’s fraud division.
Lana and Ed’s case started the same way. In May last year, the grandmother received a call from criminals posing as detectives from Wells Fargo, with whom she had banked since 2005.
She was told that their account had been attacked and that the case involved money laundering, pornography and illegal and disputed transactions.
The Federal Trade Commission investigated, Lana was told, and she was turned over to a man claiming to be a U.S. Marshal.
Lana was given an official-looking ID from the alleged marshal and was seen in this publication.
One Google by this name brings up a LinkedIn account of a real US Marshal, along with a book about Amazon apparently written by him.
However, DailyMail.com understands that no one with that name has worked for the Marshal service for more than a decade.
After doing her research online, Lana was convinced he was a real marshal. She dutifully followed his instructions.
The couple was told they were in a witness protection program that would keep their money safe and protect them.
Victim Alice Fries, 59, was approached by criminals posing as the bank’s fraud department and tricked her into handing over her personal details, which they then used to access her account.
Judith, pictured, and her family spread her story on social media
The fraudsters said they would be jailed if they chose to talk to anyone about their ordeal. The couple – who were both married once before they met each other – have six children and fourteen grandchildren together.
In late May, the “Marshal” had Lana withdraw most of her savings from her Wells Fargo bank account. She was then instructed to transfer this to Bitcoin.
He then encouraged Lana to empty all her investment accounts and have the money converted into gold to be stored in a vault guarded by the Federal Reserve. She sent the money via bank transfer to someone who promised to secure the gold and send fake receipts.
Every time she left the house, Lana was told to keep in touch with the ‘Marshal’ at all times. He even seemed to follow her movements and tell her things like “You’re not home yet” when she was in the car.
The transactions raised alarms at Wells Fargo, which contacted Lana repeatedly to make sure she wasn’t being scammed. However, Lana believes that the criminals listened to her conversations with the bank.
She was also so deeply under their spell that she was too afraid to tell the truth, and instead told the bank employees lies told to her by the scammers.
DailyMail.com has seen multiple receipts showing the Brownes lost $1,466,422.
“I had to lie to everyone, including the bank and my family,” Lana told DailyMail.com.
‘My daughter was so worried. She called my best friend to find out what was going on, but of course I couldn’t say anything. I apologized afterwards for lying. I felt so ashamed.’
It wasn’t until one evening in October that Lana woke up with a start when she realized with absolute clarity that she had been scammed.
Communication with the ‘Marshal’ had all but dried up after she was told he had been hospitalized for his involvement in a shooting.
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She and Ed contacted the National Elder Fraud Hotline and now they are working with the real Homeland Security, who has made one arrest in connection with the Brownes’ losses. The department declined to answer multiple questions from DailyMail.com about the case.
Lana said: ‘Our biggest concern is our age. If something happens and I can no longer care for Ed, I will need the money for his help or whatever needs he has.”
A recent report from the Federal Trade Commission estimates that Americans will lose $10 billion to fraudsters by 2023. This represented an increase of $1 billion from the previous year.
About 22 percent of fraud cases filed came from victims over the age of 80, while 25 percent were between 70 and 79 years old.
In recent months, several cases have come to light in which Wells Fargo customers were targeted by scammers posing as the bank.
Last week, Alice Fries told DailyMail.com that she had lost $100,000 in the excitement. Similarly, victim Thomas Murrer saw his savings depleted and his credit cards maxed out – to the tune of $30,000.
California grandmother Judith Anderson went viral on TikTok after sharing her story about losing $150,000 to scammers just a few days before Christmas. She has now received a refund from the bank.
The Brownes did not complain directly to Wells Fargo or request a refund. Lana acknowledges that bank employees tried their best to prevent her from making the transactions, but she persisted, believing she was protecting her safety.
Wells Fargo declined to comment on the Brownes’ case.