Californian Chester Frilich lost his life savings and owes more than $30,000 in taxes after fraud, Concord police say

CONCORD, California — A California man who once helped people protect themselves professionally fell victim to a scam that cost him his life savings. Now, to make matters worse, he expects to owe more than $30,000 in taxes as a result of the scam.

The perpetrators exploited this victim’s sense of right and wrong, convincing her that her computer had been hacked and used for illegal activities. They had a ton of evidence and posed as federal law enforcement. At one point, they even enlisted unsuspecting couriers who may have been rideshare drivers as part of the scam. But it all fell apart when a CVS employee living more than 400 miles away in Huntington Beach, California, had a hunch that something was wrong.

On March 27, Concord police responded to the home of Chester Frilich.

“And they say you were cheated,” Frilich said.

Frilich says it all started earlier this month with someone claiming to be from Xfinity. According to a police report he later filed, Frilich told investigators that Xfinity told him someone had used his personal information to upload videos to a porn site and that they were generating a report for the Federal Trade Commission.

“And about an hour later, a guy named Jason Brown from the FTC calls me and tells me I’m under investigation for wire fraud. And he lists every credit card I’ve had in 40 years,” Frilich said.

Frilich says Agent Brown also told him that someone had rented a Texas apartment in his name and that the FTC did not believe he had made those transactions. To help him, they would move all of his money into a secure account.

“And the scam continues – a few days later they ask me to withdraw more money and so on five more times,” Frilich said.

Frilich received a letter he believed was from the Treasury Department confirming a plan to clear his name. He put large amounts of cash and gold in boxes that were picked up by couriers who gave him the password. Concord police believe the couriers may have been rideshare drivers.

“In most cases, the couriers are not involved in the crime, they just don’t realize it,” said Detective Dylan Luciano of the Concord Police Financial Crimes Unit.

He continued to receive confirmation letters for transactions. Then one day he was told there was no courier in his area and that he would have to send $8,500 in cash in a box to Huntington Beach via UPS.

“So I did that and that’s when I found out someone was knocking on my door. It was Concord police,” Frilich said.

It turned out that UPS had delivered the package to a CVS store in Huntington Beach, where Concord police say two people showed up to pick it up carrying photo IDs instead of actual IDs.

“I think that was enough for the employee to reject the package,” Detective Luciano said.

Unfortunately, even with the involvement of Huntington Police and Concord Police, Frilich never recovered the $8,500. That last package was missing.

“I lost $8,500 and my life savings,” Frilich said.

In total, he lost almost $200,000.

“They managed to hack into my computer, they knew everything about me,” Frilich said.

“Having that information is kind of key for them to be able to convince someone of their credibility,” Detective Luciano said.

Frilich says that in addition to the loss, since he cashed out the CD and IRA, he expects to owe more than $30,000 in taxes. The IRS has told him that if he can’t repay it, they will put a lien on his house.

“It’s frustrating for them and it’s frustrating for us because it just never seems to end. It’s one problem after another, after another, after another,” Detective Luciano said.

“The last thing I want to do in the world is find myself on the street,” Frilich said.

Frilich believes his biggest mistake was panicking. When he did, he said he wasn’t thinking straight. Concord police say no legitimate law enforcement agency would ever discourage someone from verifying their identity. The perpetrators forced the victim to sign a nondisclosure agreement to prevent them from verifying their identity. Concord police say they continue to educate the public about these types of scams to prevent others from falling victim.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Chester Frilich. You can donate here.