ESCANABA, MI— The City of Escanaba says it was the victim of an email scam about a year and a half ago.
On December 28, 2020 the city received an invoice from Proxima Management, which was helping redevelop the old county jail and Chamber of Commerce sites with grant funding. After the $28,949.14 bill was paid directly to a vendor, officials found out Proxima Management’s email had been hacked. The hacker was from Cape Town, South Africa.
An elderly California woman was identified as the recipient of the money. The FBI became involved and discovered the woman had been involved in similar scams.
The investigation is closed due to the location of the suspects and logistics of getting them to Delta County for possible prosecution.
The FBI is calling the incident a “business email compromise.” The city says it has taken steps to prevent it from happening again.
The investigation failed to reveal any involvement or fault of city employees or local individuals.
