SEATTLE — Scammers took more than $830,000 from Seattle's funding for homeless programs this summer, city officials told KING 5 on Friday.
Mary's Place, a nonprofit organization that serves women, children and families, alerted the city to a possible cyber fraud incident in June. Seattle officials immediately investigated and determined a fraudulent request was sent to the city's Human Services Department (HSD) on behalf of Mary's Place. The account requesting payment was not owned or operated by Mary's Place.
City officials reported the fraud to the Seattle Police Department. A subsequent investigation involved the FBI and Secret Service.
"These investigations determined that the City and Mary’s Place were victims of fraud with losses totaling approximately $831,062 over a six-month period," a statement from Seattle officials said.
HSD has worked with the city to strengthen security measures and implement safeguards against future fraud attempts.
City officials said Seattle is now in the process of reimbursing Mary’s Place for lost payments.