CHICAGO — It’s the hottest scam in years and there’s no indication that it’s gonna go away anytime soon. What is it? Schemers use the banking apps on their victims’ phones to transfer large sums of money to themselves.
Typically, they approach people on the street, claiming to be raising funds for a charity or by sharing a heartbreaking story about a critically ill child in need of money.
When their targets declare they have no cash to spare, the scammers are prepared: “You got Venmo? We can take Zelle, too!”
When a target takes out and unlocks their phone to contribute, a couple of things can happen. One of the bad guys may snatch the phone away and transfer money, while an accomplice prevents the victim from intervening. Or a schemer can offer to make the transfer himself (“It’s easier”). But, instead of transferring the $5 or $10 that the victim agreed to, the guy transfers hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Theft crews have been working Lakeview all year, but they’ve been extremely active lately. On Sunday afternoon, two scammers who promised to take only $5 tried to transfer $3,000 to themselves at Diversey and Sheffield, according to reporting by SpotNewsOnIG.
Chicago police detectives have successfully brought charges in cases like these.
The most recent person to be charged is Jamie Miller, 30. Prosecutors hit him with charges of wire fraud and theft of $500 to $10,000.
In court filings, prosecutors said Miller transferred $1,900 via Zelle from a 22-year-old man outside Shake Shack, 3519 North Clark, in Wrigleyville on January 7. Court records do not say exactly how investigators believe Miller gained control of the man’s phone. However, CPD warned in January that money transfer scammers had been working outside that Shake Shack location.
About two weeks later, Miller made headlines when prosecutors accused him of murdering a concertgoer outside the House of Blues on November 15, 2023. During a detention hearing in January, prosecutors said Miller was soliciting money outside the venue for a “fictitious school basketball program” when the victim, 47-year-old Andrew Hulburt, swore at him.
Miller responded by walking up to Hulburt and punching him once in the left temple, causing Hulburt to fall backward and strike his head on the pavement, according to the state’s detention petition. Hulburt never regained consciousness, and the medical examiner determined he suffered from a dissected vertebral artery.
A judge detained Miller during his initial court appearance. But Miller successfully appealed that decision and is currently on electronic monitoring.
In his appeal, Miller’s attorney argued that he could not reasonably have expected that a single punch to another healthy man would result in death or great bodily harm. The appellate court justices, citing extensive Illinois case law, agreed and sent the detention decision back to the trial judge for reconsideration.
The appellate court decision said Miller’s attorney “disputed” the state’s claim that Miller was raising money for a “fictitious” charity. The defense said the state was trying “to make it seem like he’s there doing something unlawful.”
“Defense counsel clarified that [the] defendant was part of a violence prevention program and that he was standing outside the concert venue to collect money for that program,” the justices wrote.
Prosecutors asked the judge handling the murder case, Maria Kuriakos-Ciesil, to revoke Miller’s pretrial release based on the new allegations. She denied that request.
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