Man Arrested for Scamming Teens in Financial Scheme

An 18 year-old man from Bowie, Md. is in custody after enticing several county teens via social media involving a money scam. Yahya Koroma was arrested around 11 a.m., Aug. 20 and charged with three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. He was taken to the Adult Detention Center and held without bond.

Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau, including Financial Crimes, Child Exploitation and Street Crimes units worked diligently to identify and arrest Koroma after these reports surfaced over the past couple of months. Detectives determined he conned at least three of the young victims into providing their ATM cards and PIN numbers after assuring they would receive a portion of the money from checks he deposited into their account. Koroma withdrew the victim’s money before the fraudulent checks were discovered.

This is an active investigation and detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of the crimes. If you believe your child may be a victim, please contact our Major Crimes Bureau detectives at 703-246-7800. We encourage parents to review these safety reminders with your children so they don’t become victims.

·         Never share credit, debit, ATM card, or any financial information with anyone you don’t know.

·         Something that sounds too good to be true, probably is NOT true.

·         When in doubt, contact us; we’re happy to help out and answer questions.

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