SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The FBI is investigating how con artists were able to obtain confidential information about unaccompanied child immigrants being held in Oklahoma and elsewhere as part of a scam netting the swindlers thousands of dollars.
Special agent Michelle Lee tells the San Antonio Express-News that information was obtained for children being held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas and at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.
She says scammers posing as charity workers have contacted people in a dozen states who are acting as sponsors for the children. They claim that payments of $300 to $6,000 are needed to cover processing costs and travel expenses to reunite families.
The contractor responsible for the child detention operations at the two facilities, BCFS (formerly Baptist Child and Family Services), referred questions to the FBI.