A hacked email and a 'romance scam' helped thieves siphon US$13mil from US schools, officials say

In the second part of the scam, officials said, the thieves preyed on a recently widowed Florida woman through a fake e-Harmony online dating profile. — 123rf.com

International thieves siphoned US$13mil (RM58.29mil) in state aid from the Chester Upland School District last year in an intricate plot involving hacked emails, cryptocurrency, and a sham e-Harmony romance with a Florida widow, officials said Friday.

Following a "long and complex investigation," Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said that around US$10.3mil (RM46.19mil) of the missing state subsidy money had been recovered and returned to the school district.