Auburn Police Detective Keith Chipman was honored by Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. for his work to recover money a North Carolina woman was scammed out of in a military romance scam.
Early, in a brief ceremony outside the Auburn Police Department Thursday, gave Chipman a Team Excellence and Merit Award, which recognizes outstanding service for those working in public service.
Chipman was able to help recover $65,000 for the 78-year-old woman, a story first detailed by MassLive.
“What we know now is that scams are on the rise with one in 10 people falling victim each year,” Early said commenting on the increase during the COVID pandemic.
Elderly people are particularly hit hard and targeted by scammers, he said.
Chipman was called by the North Carolina woman’s family in July and was told about the scam. The scammer was most likely in Ghana, the detective discovered after investigating the case.
The detective learned the woman had been scammed out of roughly $160,000 but some of the money was actually in a bank in Auburn, Massachusetts.
Chipman’s work led to Greer Spatz, the chief prosecutor for the Worcester District Attorney’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, to file motions in court in October to have the money returned to the victim.
A judge allowed the motion in November.
The victim, who spoke with MassLive in the story published Nov. 12, detailed how the man scammed her and preyed upon her willingness to help someone. The man pretended to be a soldier in the U.S. Army who needed help while serving overseas.
The man kept asking for money and used several different ruses to steal the victim’s cash.
During an interview with MassLive, the victim’s daughter said her mother fell for the faceless man who contacted the victim first on Facebook.
“They were in love,” the daughter said.
“Yes, I reckon you could call it love or whatever,” the mother replied.
Early said Chipman’s commitment to help the woman showed he deserved the award given to him Thursday. Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis Jr. credited his detective for going above and beyond to help the victim.
“It is something I think any officer would have done in this situation,” Chipman said.
The Worcester District Attorney’s Office has information online to help people identify possible scams.
