Fatal Fraud: A Fatal Series Novel

by Marie Force

  “She came to my wife, Clarissa, with an ‘opportunity’ that she felt we’d be interested in. She was putting together a group of investors to purchase an abandoned building in Gaithersburg and turn it into high-end condos, shops and restaurants. She had prospectuses, charts, graphs, everything you’d need to believe it was legit. We toured the building with a Realtor, who gave us even more information about how the place would be a gold mine once the renovation was finished. They were looking for two hundred highly motivated investors who would each own a piece of the pie and reap the benefits, which were touted to be sizable.”

  He took a deep breath and released it, sagging a bit as his tale unfolded. “My wife and I were intrigued. Ginny and Ken had done well. Really well. They had the fancy house and the fancy cars and the fancy vacations, while we were slogging away at well-paying jobs without really getting ahead. We wanted what they had, and we felt like she was showing us how to make that happen. So I cashed in a chunk of my 401(k), took a huge hit on taxes and early-withdrawal penalties and sent her a check.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Nothing for a while. We kept hearing she was still working out the purchase details. These things are highly complex, she’d say when Clarissa asked for updates. I tried to stay chill about it, because investing is always about patience. When six months went by without anything happening, I started getting worried, especially when I saw on Facebook that Ginny and Ken were on a trip to Greece while I was waiting to hear that our investment was moving forward.”

  Sam took notes as he talked, processing the details and turning them over in her mind. “When did you start to fear you’d been scammed?”

  “When the building we were supposedly buying sold to someone other than Ginny.”

  “How did you find that out?”

  “I keep an eye on real estate transactions in our area, just out of curiosity about what’s selling and for how much. The building we were supposedly investing in sold for two point two million about eight months after we gave Ginny the money.”

  “What did you do when you saw that?”

  “At first, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I went online to confirm the building was actually the same one. After I confirmed that it was, Clarissa and I went to their house. Their cars were in the driveway, but no one answered the door. That’s when I first started calling my friend with the FBI. It took my friend four weeks to get others at the FBI to take it seriously and another four weeks after that before they started to actively investigate.

  “Her scheme began to unravel when the FBI brought in the IRS. With the two agencies on the case, we quickly learned the whole thing was probably a scam. She never intended to buy or renovate that building, and apparently, she’s been doing this shit for years and getting away with it by robbing Peter to pay Paul. At least I get now how she swings the house, the cars, the vacations.”

  “What I don’t understand is how it took years for her investors to get suspicious.”

  “She was giving others small dividends on the investments, which pacified them. Those dividends came from new investors like us.”

  “But she didn’t do that for you?”

  He shook his head. “We never saw a dime or a report on our investment or anything after we gave her the money. In fact, with hindsight, Clarissa realized she barely heard from Ginny at all after we gave her the check. Everyone’s busy, so it wasn’t unusual for a few months to go by between get-togethers, but it was unusual for Clarissa to not hear from Ginny at all. Later, when we put the pieces together, we realized that Ginny’s mother, to whom she was always exceptionally close, fell ill shortly after we invested, which probably meant she had less time to bring in new people to provide enough dividends to keep us from raising the red flag.”

  “Where were you on Sunday afternoon?”

  He gave her a blank look, as if he couldn’t believe she was asking him that.

  “I told you I didn’t kill her.”

  “I heard you, but you see, it’s like this. People tell us all the time they didn’t kill someone, and then we later find out they actually did. That’s why we ask people to tell us where they were at the time of the murder and make them prove it. Saves us a lot of time in the end. So where were you on Sunday afternoon?”

  Through gritted teeth, he said, “With my son in College Park. He’s a freshman at Maryland. My wife and I took him to lunch. He can confirm it, and I can provide a receipt from the restaurant.”

  “If you could give us his phone number and a copy of that receipt, that’s all we need.”

  He glared at her before reaching for his phone, getting the number from his contacts and reciting it. From his wallet, he produced a receipt that Freddie took a picture of with his phone.

  “Don’t tell your son to expect a call from us,” Sam said. “We check those things too.”

  “I didn’t kill her, but good luck finding anyone on her list of investors who didn’t want her dead once they found out she’d been scamming us. I mean, who does that to people they’ve known all their lives? She and my wife had been friends for years.”

  “It had to be extremely shocking.”

  “You have no idea. Sometimes, I still can’t believe it, and I’ve known the truth of what really happened for months now. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that she actually stole from us.”

  “Besides yourself, who else was instrumental in helping the FBI and IRS to make a case against her?”

  “There were two of us who did the heavy lifting. The other was Ginny’s cousin, Alison Enders, who lives in Germantown.”

  “Do you have an address and phone number for Alison?”

  “Yeah.” Again using his phone, he wrote down the requested information.

  “What was your sense of Ken’s involvement in the scheme?”

  “He was broadsided the same way the rest of us were, or so he said. Some people think he knew, others believe he didn’t. It just depends on who you talk to.”

  “How would she have explained to him where the money was coming from if he didn’t know?” Freddie asked.

  “That was my question too. But from what he told investigators, he assumed it was proceeds from her various investments.”

  “And he was believed?”

  “Ken passed a polygraph.” He handed over the paper with the name, address and phone number of Ginny’s cousin Alison.

  “Did you ever have contact with someone involved in the scheme who talked about wanting to kill Ginny?”

  “Everyone wanted to kill her. People said if she was dead, we might benefit from her life insurance, if she had it. You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who was defrauded by her who didn’t want her dead.”

  He leaned in, expression intense, eyes full of fury and maybe hurt too. “You have to understand, Lieutenant. She ruined our lives. She destroyed our faith in humanity. I mean, if a friend can do this to you… My wife and I had a solid relationship before this. And now…” He blew out a deep breath. “I made the mistake of blaming her for what Ginny did. She was Ginny’s friend, after all. But it wasn’t Clarissa’s fault. We decided together to invest, and it was wrong of me to blame Clarissa. I never should’ve done that, and now I’m left to wonder if she’ll ever forgive me.”

  “Where would we find your wife?” Sam asked.

  His expression went completely blank. “Why do you need to talk to her?”

  “For the same reason we wanted to talk to you. She was a victim of Ginny’s scheme, and I’d like to gain her perspective.”

  “Her story would be very similar to mine.”

  “Good to know. Where can we find her?”

  Seeming to realize he couldn’t talk her out of speaking to Clarissa, he said, “She’s a yoga instructor and teaches classes at night. During the day, she’s at home.”

  Sam handed the paper he’d given her back to him. “Please write down your home address and your wife’s phone number.”

  He did as she
asked and gave the paper back to her. “Are you going there to see her?”

  “We are, and we’d rather you not tell her we’re coming.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I asked you not to.”

  Oh, he didn’t like that, but wisely refrained from saying so.

  Sam stood, and Freddie did the same. “If you think of anything else that might be relevant to our investigation, please let me know.” She handed him her business card. “I understand you have no incentive to help us figure out who killed her, but we’d appreciate your cooperation anyway.”

  “I’ve told you what I know. The rest of the details are in the court filings.”

  “Thank you for your time.”

  Sam led the way through the bank lobby. Every set of eyes in the place landed on her as she headed for the exit. Once outside, she took a deep breath of fresh, cold air that settled her. Being recognized everywhere she went was unnerving, especially in light of her job locking up criminals. She never knew when she might encounter someone she’d arrested years ago who’d recognize her due to her increased notoriety and love nothing more than to make something of her newfound role as second lady. That was a thought she was better off not entertaining.

  “Where to?” Freddie asked when they were back in her car.

  She handed over the paper Haverson had given them. “Let’s go see Clarissa.”

  Chapter Seven

  The Haversons lived in a brick-front colonial with black shutters and fancy iron work around a balcony on the second floor.

  “How many brick-fronted homes do you think there are in the capital region?” Sam asked.

  “Is that a rhetorical question?”

  “No, I’m actually wondering how many you think there are.”

  “Tens of thousands?”

  “Probably a good estimate.”

  “Is there a reason you’re counting bricks?”

  “Just curious.” She pressed the doorbell and listened to the loud chiming that echoed inside the big house.

  “I know what you’re going to say.”

  “I don’t get it with the nuclear-bomb doorbells. Wouldn’t that scare the shit out of you every time it goes off?”

  “I imagine it’d be rather startling.”

  “Rather.” Sam looked in the window on the right side of the black front door. “If Haverson tipped her off that we were coming, I’m going to arrest his ass.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Then you can do the paperwork.”

  Sam cupped her hands around her eyes for a better view inside. “I don’t do paperwork. That’s why I have you.” She rang the bell again. “Wake up, Clarissa.” Movement on the second floor had Sam looking up in time to see a blonde woman coming down the stairs with… a fucking gun pointed at the door.

  Sam grabbed Freddie and pulled him back while simultaneously drawing her own weapon. At least they could say with reasonable confidence that her husband hadn’t tipped her off. If he had, she was insane for greeting cops with a gun.

  “What’re you doing?” Freddie asked as he shook her off.

  “She’s got a gun, and it’s pointed at us.”

  “Who is it?” Clarissa asked from inside.

  While remaining out of sight of the window, Sam held up her badge. “Lieutenant Holland, Metro Police Department. We want to talk to you about Ginny McLeod.” She spoke as loud as she could so the woman could hear her.

  A series of locks disengaged before the door swung open.

  Sam held her weapon in front of her so Clarissa could see it. “Put down your weapon and step back from it, hands up.”

  “This is my house. You don’t get to tell me what to do in my own house.”

  “Detective Cruz, would you please inform Mrs. Haverson of her rights in this matter?”

  “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney—”

  “Wait a minute. You’re arresting me?”

  “We aren’t talking to you while you’re armed,” Sam said, “so if you’re unwilling to put down your weapon and step away from it, then yes, we’re arresting you and taking you to MPD Headquarters to have the conversation we wish to have with you. Any other questions?”

  She glared at Sam. “I’ll put down the weapon.”

  “Excellent.” Sam continued to train her weapon on the woman until she had placed the gun on a front hall table and returned to the doorway with her hands up.

  Sam stashed her gun in the holster she wore on her hip. “I assume I’d find that gun is registered if I happened to check?”

  “It’s registered. There were a series of B&Es in this neighborhood a few years back, which is when I got it. No one ever comes here without texting first. I’m here alone during the day. A woman can’t be too careful in this world.”

  “May we come in?”

  “I guess. I’m not sure what you want with me. I didn’t kill Ginny, even though I’m glad she got what she deserved.”

  That, Sam realized, was going to be a common refrain in this investigation.

  Sam picked up Clarissa’s gun, made sure the safety was on, removed the bullets and handed the weapon and ammunition to Freddie to safeguard while they were in the house. “We’ve just come from speaking to your husband.”

  Clarissa appeared surprised to hear that.

  “We told him not to tell you we were coming.”

  She led them to a seating area off the dining room. “Oh. If you’ve talked to him, what do you need with me?”

  “Talk to me about how Ginny first approached you with the investment idea.”

  Clarissa’s expression hardened as she thought about that. “It was at a cookout at the home of mutual friends two summers ago. We were talking about vacations we’d taken or had planned, and as always, Ginny’s vacations were way better than anyone else’s. She and Ken had been to Bora Bora and stayed in one of those over-the-water huts they’re famous for. Do you know what I mean?”

  Sam held back a smile at the reference to the place where she and Nick had spent their honeymoon and celebrated their first anniversary earlier in the year. “I do.”

  Freddie coughed, as if hiding a laugh.

  “I went to Bermuda, and she went to Bora Bora. The year before, it was Tahiti, and before that was Bali. I’ll admit I was jealous of her and how well she and Ken were doing in their careers. I was driving a ten-year-old Honda Accord, while she was tooling around in a new Mercedes SUV. Her house was amazing. Her life was amazing. I made a joke about wanting to be her when I grew up, and then later, when no one else was around, she said something to me about an investment opportunity she was working on that might get me to Tahiti.”

  “You were intrigued?”

  “Hell yes, I was intrigued. I felt like she was giving me the insider edge on the secret to her lifestyle. Brett and I work all the time, but with three kids to put through college and a big mortgage, we don’t have a lot of extra money lying around. So when she told me about the investment group she was heading up, I was all in from the get-go.” She looked down at the floor, her shoulders sagging. “I remember driving home that night and telling Brett about it and how we had to do it because it might be the thing that changed the game for us.”

  Bitterness crept into her every word, and when she looked up at them again, Sam saw the hurt too.

  “She knew how hard we work for everything we have, how proud we are to put our kids through good schools without saddling them with debt. But she also knew how much having three kids in college at the same time hurt us financially. She knew that.” Clarissa blinked back tears. “That’s the part I can’t get over. I told her how strapped we were after paying tuition for years, and she screwed us anyway. I thought it might be a way to jumpstart an early retirement. Instead, she’s made it so we’ll be working for the rest of our lives.”

  Sam waited to see if she would say more.

  “The money she took… It was most of what we
had left after we finish paying for college for our kids. It was our nest egg. And now it’s gone, and the FBI told us from the outset that it would be a huge longshot to ever recover the money.”

  The woman’s heartbreak was palpable.

  “It just never occurred to me that someone I’ve known most of my life would steal from me.”

  “Why would it?” Sam asked. “No one would expect that from a lifelong friend. That’s the part I’m having trouble wrapping my head around. What did she think would happen when people found out there was no development? That the money was gone? What do you suppose her end game was?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve had that same conversation with other people she stole from, who were also close to her or Ken or both of them. No one knows how she expected this to end, but in the meantime, she appeared to have the time of her life spending other people’s money.”

  “And none of you thought to question where she was getting the money to fund her lifestyle?”

  “No.” She bristled at the question. “She always lived large, so it wasn’t like this was something new. And she was my lifelong friend. Why in the world would I think she was using my money to pay for her lifestyle?” She looked down, her shoulders rounded with defeat. “I blame myself, and Brett blames me too. I was so caught up in the idea of having what Ginny had that I talked him into gambling our security, our future. It’s my fault.”

  “Of course you know it was actually the fault of the person who scammed you.”

  “I was the one who wanted to invest. I wanted what she had, and now… Not only are our finances in a shambles, so is our marriage.”

  “In all your communication with other people who were defrauded by Ginny, did you ever hear anyone say they wanted to harm her?”

  “Everyone has said it at one point or another. Remember, we were not only dealing with the shock of losing our money, but also grappling with the realization that our sibling, friend, cousin, neighbor, colleague had stolen from us. It was a double whammy for everyone involved.” She glanced directly at Sam. “Have you talked to her cousin Alison yet? She got a second mortgage on her house to go in on the investment. She’s in danger of losing her house. You should talk to her.”