Houston

Officials: Texas County Falls Victim to $525K Scam

Investigators say a Southeast Texas county appears to be the victim of a $525,000 email scam after government funds meant for road repairs were sent to a wrong account.

Galveston County Treasurer Kevin Walsh says the scam was discovered Monday after county officials reviewed email correspondence with a Houston construction company scheduled to repair roads in San Leon.

Walsh tells The Galveston County Daily News that county officials paid the money to a new account after receiving a request to do so from an unknown entity pretending to be the construction firm. He says the emails and account belonged to a scammer.

Walsh says the deposit error wasn't detected until the construction company asked why it was taking so long to receive payment.

The sheriff's office is investigating the incident.

Copyright The Associated Press
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