An Arizona woman is facing multiple fraud charges for allegedly scamming a widow she met on the popular Words With Friends gaming app out of thousands of dollars by posing as a man named Garth Davis and asking for cash.
Carla Ann Whaley, 70, was arrested at her home in Gilbert, Arizona on Monday for what police call a 'romance scam' that cost an unnamed Tennessee woman nearly $34,000.
According to court documents, the victim told Gilbert Police in November that she had been feeling vulnerable and lonely since her husband died earlier in the year and found comfort speaking to a man she met on the gaming app who said his name was 'Garth Davis.'
The widow said 'Garth' was easy to talk to and they became romantically involved in March. They moved their chats to Google Hangouts around the same time and that's when 'Garth' said he was having trouble accessing his bank accounts and began asking for cash and gift cards.
A few months later, 'Garth' began requesting the money be sent to his 'friend' Carla Whaley, and the victim grew suspicious and contacted police. By then, she had already given 'Garth' thousands of dollars.
Carla Ann Whaley, 70, was arrested at her home in Gilbert, Arizona on Monday for a 'romance scam' that cost an 'lonely' unnamed Tennessee widow nearly $34,000
According to court documents, the scam began when 'Garth' told the victim that he was a project manager on an oil rig off the coast of Ireland and started having trouble accessing money in his bank account. He asked for money to be sent through cash cards and gift cards, which she did.
But when the woman broke her foot, making it difficult for her go out and purchase the cards, 'Garth' told her to start sending money to Carla Whaley, his 'friend' who lived in Gilbert.
The woman sent Whaley $20,000 in cash and $3,000 through CashApp until July, court documents confirm. She then grew suspicious and called the police, who went to Whaley's home to speak with her.
Gilbert Police went to Whaley's home to speak to her, court documents state, and Whaley told police that the name 'Garth Davis' was familiar to her, but it was 'not on her list.'
Whaley also told police she was helping a friend move money but did not tell officers who the friend was, explaining that she did not wish to expose their identity and said she would feel more comfortable talking about it away from her husband.
In late December, Whaley was brought into the Gilbert police station for further questioning, where she told police she 'wasn't entirely truthful' the first time she spoke with police.
Whaley admitted receiving $20,000 in cash from the woman, according to court documents.
Following her statements, police searched Whaley's CashApp and saw that the money she had within the app was being exchanged for cryptocurrency and bitcoin and then exchanged for cash.
Whaley had transferred just over $10,000 from the CashApp to her credit union account from July to August.
Whaley was arrested at her Arizona home and booked into jail on Monday. She faces one count of fraudulent schemes and one count of financing a criminal syndicate.
Detective Gary Kidder, with the Gilbert Police told AZFamily that says this sort of scam is common.
