A man on St. Croix impersonated a realtor to have money illegally wired to his bank account, the V.I. Police Department reported.
On Aug. 11, 2020, police began an investigation into Michael Adair Ellenburg. Their investigation revealed Ellenburg hacked into an unknown computer and impersonated a realtor, fraudulently engaging in conversations and then requesting a wire of $23,003.96 fraudulently to Ellenburg’s bank account, according to the police report.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Ellenburg and on Oct. 7, 2022, Sheriff Deputy in Missoula, Montana, discovered that Ellenburg had an outstanding warrant and placed him in custody. He was booked and charged with obtaining money by false pretenses, grand larceny, and acting in assumed character, a suspect has been placed under arrest. On Nov. 10, 2022, Ellenburg signed a waiver of extradition, and the U.S. Marshals were contacted to assist the Virgin Islands Police Department and start the extradition process, the police report stated.
On Friday, police traveled to Missoula, where Michael Ellenburg, 74, was served the arrest warrant and placed under arrest without incident. Ellenburg was advised of his Miranda Rights, however, refused to provide a statement, the report stated.
Bail was set at $25,000 for the alleged incident. Unable to post bail, Ellenburg was remanded to correction pending his advice of rights hearing scheduled for Jan 30, police said.
