HOUSTON — Federal authorities say they’ve arrested a Houston woman who collected ransoms from people who believed their children were kidnapped and that the money had to be paid to get them released. Thirty-four-year-old Yanette Rodriguez Acosta was taken into custody Thursday after being indicted two days earlier on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Authorities say she conspired with others in Mexico in a “virtual kidnapping” scheme in which they called people in California, Idaho and Texas. Those parents made money drops in Houston totalling $28,000. There were no actual kidnappings, and it’s not clear how victims were targeted.

Source: National Post July 20, 2017 19:30 UTC