California suspects accused of swindling nearly $500K from Orange City woman, sheriff says

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A man and a woman from California have been arrested on fraud charges in Volusia County, according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Jason Hellawell, 56, was arrested in California and extradited to Florida on Tuesday while 33-year-old Ariel Wang, Hellawell’s alleged co-conspirator, traveled to Volusia County and turned herself in on July 21, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said on social media.

The victim, an Orange City woman, believed she was sending a wire transfer of $487,350 to her accountant for taxes owed while her accountant’s email had actually been compromised by scammers, the post states.

“Detectives with the VSO Financial Crimes Unit tracked down the suspects and seized bank accounts. Additional charges are possible from other jurisdictions as investigations continue,” the sheriff’s office said, stating elsewhere that Hellawell is “a suspect in other cases across the country, with $19 million in suspicious wire transfers passing through his account in the past 9 months.”

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Hellawell faces charges of organized scheme to defraud over $50,000, money laundering over $100,000 and unlicensed money services of $100,000 or more while Wang faces charges of grand theft over $100,000, organized scheme to defraud over $50,000 and money laundering over $100,000, records show. Wang has since been released on $350,000 bond while Hellawell remains jailed on $600,000 bond, according to the Volusia County Clerk of Court.