Loudon County Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Deputies arrested Valerie Soki Hangi, from Quebec Canada, on Thursday, October 17th 2024. Hangi took part in scamming at least $60,000 in cash from three separate victims between Loudon and Monroe Counties.
LCSO has received multiple calls about a new scam that is currently targeting grandparents.
The scammer will call, act as if they are the grandchild of the victim, and convince the victim that they (the supposed grandchild) have been arrested and need money for bail. The scammer is even using the same nicknames that the grandchild would call the grandparent (Grandpa, Mamaw, ect.) that helps further convice the victim that they are actually the victim’s grandchild. The scammer then puts their “attorney” on the phone with the victim for them to give information about the “case” that the supposed grandchild was involved in.
After convincing the unsuspecting victim to withdrawl cash, the scammer sets up a time to have a courier (in this particular case, the courier was Valerie Hangi) drive to the victim’s home and pick up the large sum of cash. Unfortunately, the reports that the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office have taken were for $20,000 each.
Valerie Soki Hangi was arrested yesterday from a traffic stop while on her way to make another $20,000 cash pickup. Inside the maroon Kia Forte, Hangi was driving, was a large sum of money that is consistent with the amounts and denominations scamed from the victims. Hangi and the Kia Forte she was driving were identified by the victims in these cases.
During this investigation, it was learned that Hangi flew into Nashville International Airport on Monday, October 14th, 2024. Hangi began making cash pickups as early as Tuesday, October 15th, and continued making cash pickups until she was arrested on Thursday, October 17th.
LCSO is confident that there are more victims that have been scammed by Valerie Hangi. If you or anyone you know were scammed by Hangi, please call our non emergency dispatch at 865-458-9081. The cases referenced in this release took place in the Tellico Village Community.
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Jimmy Davis would like to thank our law enforcement partners with the 9th Judicial District Drug Task Force, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, and US Customs and Border Protection. As this case evolves, we expect more local, state, and federal agencies to become involved.
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