I was targeted and deceived in a ruthless fraud scheme that stole thousands of dollars from innocent people like me using Zelle. This wasn’t an accident or a mistake — it was a calculated scam carried out by criminals who knew exactly what they were doing.
It started when I received a fraudulent text message, pretending to be from my bank. The message claimed there was a suspicious Zelle transaction on my account and demanded immediate confirmation. Naturally, I denied authorizing it — and that’s exactly what the scammers were waiting for.
Soon after, I received a phone call from someone posing as a bank representative. The caller sounded professional, confident, and urgent. They told me an unauthorized transaction had occurred and promised they would help me reverse it. They exploited my fear, my trust in my bank, and the urgency of the situation.
What I didn’t know — and what they intentionally hid — was that these fraudsters had secretly linked my phone number or email address to a Zelle account that did not belong to me. Then they instructed me to “reverse” the transaction by sending money through Zelle to what they claimed was my own account. It was a lie.
That money went straight into accounts controlled by criminals — including Scott, a Miami, Florida resident, and his accomplice Kader Gahmaal Biwaki Edmond.
From February 2021 through August 2023, these scammers carried out the same scam over and over again, preying on victims across multiple states, including Connecticut. Collectively, they stole more than $250,000, draining people’s savings with deception and manipulation.
While I was left dealing with the financial and emotional damage, Scott was arrested on August 31, 2023, and later pleaded guilty in federal court. Despite the harm caused, he was released on a $100,000 bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13.
His co-conspirator, Kader Gahmaal Biwaki Edmond, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced in August 2024 to three years in prison.
This was not a misunderstanding.
This was not a technical error.
This was deliberate bank fraud, carried out by impersonation, lies, and psychological manipulation — and victims like me paid the price.