Dallas Turner - Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for the start of 2025 training camp, which is now less than two weeks away. But on Tuesday a strange story arose out of the offseason fray involving 2024 1st round pick Dallas Turner and a strange bank fraud scheme he appears to have fallen victim to.
Drafted No. 17 overall, after general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made a questionable trade up from No. 24 to secure Turner, who entered the night seen as one of the top athletic talents in the entire draft.
Minnesota Vikings EDGE Dallas Turner wrapped up in bank fraud scam
Entering year two, the Vikings are relying on the 22-year-old out of Alabama to take the next step in his development as an NFL EDGE, after he got just 300 snaps on defense as a rookie. But this offseason, Dallas Turner is dealing with a strange bank fraud scam that he appears to be the victim of.
Back in April, according to an affidavit obtained by the Star Tribune, Turner took a phone call back in mid-February from a man claiming to be a banker from JP Morgan Chase. Over the phone, the man told Turner that someone was at a Chase Bank branch in Arizona impersonating Turner.
Turner and his attorney contacted police in April to report that Turner received a call on Feb. 19 “from an individual impersonating a JP Morgan Chase banker. The caller claimed someone was attempting to impersonate [Turner] at a Chase Bank branch in Arizona and presented two copies of ID to execute a wire transfer.”
Star Tribune
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Obviously, every bank fraud scam is different. Most Americans receive emails and/or text messages on a regular basis trying to scam them out of money. 99% of those attempts are avoided but millions of people every year fall victim to these fraudulent schemes.
Strange details of Turner’s case emerge
But the details we know so far on how Turner fell victim to this scam seem extra strange. In order to avoid his Arizona impersonator, the supposed JP Morgan Chase banker instructed the Minnesota Vikings rookie EDGE linebacker to transfer his money into two different business accounts.
So, according to the affidavit, Dallas Turner physically went into a Chase Bank branch in Eagan, MN where he proceeded to transfer $120,000 into an account belonging to “Island Food Truck LLC”. Then, he went to a West St. Paul location and transferred the exact same amount to “CNL FL LLC”.
Only then, according to the affidavit filed, did Turner consult with a family member who helped him realize that he may have been scammed.
The caller directed Turner to immediately transfer his money to two separate business accounts in an effort to thwart the theft attempt.
That afternoon, Turner went to a Chase branch in Eagan and transferred $120,000 to “Island Food Truck LLC.” Before day was over, he visited a Chase Bank branch in West St. Paul and transferred another $120,000 to “CNL FL LLC.”
Star Tribune
Dallas is a young kid, and the police involved in this case seem pretty convinced that he’s the victim of this case. In fact, it appears they have suspects identified and plan to bring charges. Knowing that, I feel like we should give Turner the benefit of the doubt.
How does this happen to a Minnesota Vikings player… or anyone for that matter?
Nonetheless, it is difficult to read the details in this affidavit without wondering how in the world such a scam wasn’t uncovered sooner, either by Turner, his people or someone at JP Morgan Chase.
Apparently, police are asking the same questions and the extremely large banking conglomerate is in the middle of an internal investigation on the matter.
Police have asked JPMorgan Chase whether its internal investigation has determined how “the fraudster was able to obtain sensitive account details including Dallas’ full name, linked phone numbers and [his] LLC account info” and whether any bank employees played a role in the scheme, the affidavit noted.
Star Tribune
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In what world would you think that transferring money out of your own bank account and into someone else’s business accounts protect you from fraud? Then, how do bankers working for Chase not flag the transactions, especially when he visited two separate locations to complete them?
Neither the Minnesota Vikings nor Turner’s representatives have responded to the Star Tribune’s inquiries regarding the case.
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