OXFORD, N.C. (WNCN) — An Oxford man has two felony charges in Florida where he’s accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a 70-year-old victim.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office released a video on social media Tuesday, showing Cory Woodall, from Oxford, being confronted by his alleged victim.
“You’re not looking at me,” the woman said in the video.
“This is the only victim who said no, I want to look in this person’s eyes, I want him to know what he did and what I look like,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood told CBS 17 Wednesday.
How the scam started
Chitwood said the 70-year-old victim initially received an email about a wounded military dog. According to court records, Woodall then reached out to her, pretending to be a retired Army general in need of money to help get back to the United States.
“She begins to tell her friends that she met this general, and this is what she’s done for him and the friends tell her, you were scammed,” Chitwood explained.
The sheriff said the victim ended up sending $30,000 worth of gift cards to Woodall’s home in Granville County, sending roughly $60,000 in all through other means, including cryptocurrency.
Courtesy Volusia Sheriff’s Office
Possible connection to money laundering scheme
“We contact your sheriff’s office up there, Granville Sheriff’s Office, and they were very familiar with our suspect’s girlfriend,” said Chitwood.
According to Woodall’s Florida affidavit, a woman identified as his girlfriend has been involved in an alleged money laundering scheme potentially connected to this scam.
“The rocket scientist that our suspect is in this case, after he spends the $30,000, he takes the empty envelope and reports to the Sheriff’s Office that hey, I think it’s a scam, but I scammed the scammer, I used the money,” Chitwood said.
Court records show Granville County deputies took Woodall into custody last month before he was extradited to Florida.
“They really helped move the ball down the field,” Chitwood said.
Woodall is charged with fraud and grand theft felonies.
