A Lakeview woman who struck up an Internet conversation with a man claiming to be a Texas doctor ended up becoming involved in what investigators allege was a scheme to steal money and move the funds to third parties.
Fifty-five-year-old Deborah Heroux appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday, pled guilty to the charges against her and was sentenced to 10 years-probation.
She was also ordered to pay a woman living in Florida $4,400 in victim restitution.
Her charges included money laundering, theft and theft by receiving – all stemming from the part she was reported to have played in bilking thousands of dollars from victims.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Heroux admits that in mid-February 2020 she started a conversation on Tik Tok with a man who said he was “Mark Frazier.”
The conversation continued on other social media platforms such as Google Chat, Gmail and Google Messenger.
Frazier said at one point that he was a “doctor” and claimed he was leaving for Europe to set up a new hospital but had run into a problem as the COVID-19 pandemic had his funds “messed up.”
It was at that point that money began to come in from various individuals to bank accounts controlled by Heroux.
A woman in Orange County, Florida reported she had met a man online who said his name was “John Wong.” He had asked her to help him by sending money to a bank in Mountain Home. He said the money was a loan and would be repaid quickly.
The money was sent to an account Heroux controlled.
According to investigators, Heroux was basically the “banker” for the “doctor’s” scam. Money would come into her accounts and then would be transferred out to other parties almost as soon as it arrived or was quickly withdrawn in cash.
In March, a search warrant was served on Heroux’s account at a Mountain Home bank.
Investigators said the pattern was the same – victims would be told by a male to send money to an account that was eventually traced to Heroux.
During the period, Heroux set up accounts at a number of different banks. Investigators say as the scheme continued, banks began closing her accounts because of those accounts were suspected of being part of a money laundering operation.
Investigators allege that Heroux then transferred money being held in three accounts into a fourth one set up as the Deborah Heroux Investment Account.
The probable cause affidavit alleges that Heroux’s activity continued even after she had been told by bank employees that she was likely breaking the law.
According to the probable cause affidavit, instead of stopping, Heroux is alleged to have “changed banks and got even more involved” in the scheme.
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