AR Dept. of Correction Investigates Inmate Scams

They end up in prison, to pay their debt to society. but investigators say some McPherson Unit inmates used elaborate schemes to steal thousands of dollars from ordinary citizens. News 4 Arkansas`s Dave Jordan has the story. They may be behind bars but officials say that hasn`t stopped them from continuing to break the law. Officials say as many as 12 female inmates are under investigation for running scams which netted them thousands of dollars. "When someone starts sending an inmate large sums of money and they`re not on their visitation list, they you start to raise your eyebrows really quickly," says Dina Tyler, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections. Tyler says the inmates used outside help to obtain property deeds. They allegedly used the deeds to apply online for 2nd mortage loans, which they received. But it doesn`t end there. "Inmates would use bogus w-2s that they made up to file income tax returns so they`d get refund checks," Tyler says. According to Tyler, people from the outside deposited these checks into personal accounts and later sent money orders to the inmates. She says those inmates were involved in similar scams before and remain the focus of the investigation. "What we have to do is have some specific reason to target into specific inmates and that`s what we`re doing right now." The Postal Inspector is also investigating.