- A North Carolina woman was arrested after being accused of trying to scam local churches out of money.
- Authorities said that Crystal Gail Ingram lied that one of her family members died to get money from churches.
- Ingram was charged with two counts of attempting to obtain property by false pretenses.
A North Carolina woman was arrested earlier this week after being accused of attempting to scam money from local churches by claiming that her loved one died and she needed financial assistance, authorities said.
The woman, identified as 43-year-old Crystal Gail Ingram, was charged with two counts of attempting to obtain property by false pretenses, according to a January 27 statement from the Moore County Sheriff's Office.
Officials said that they received a report on Monday that a person, later identified as Ingram, called several churches asking for money, claiming that one of her family members passed away. Ingram was given financial assistance by one of the churches, but police later found out it was a ruse.
"Investigators determined that the family member of the caller was, in fact, alive and the suspect had lied about their death to exploit local churches," the sheriff's office said.
Ingram was taken into custody Wednesday and booked into Moore County Detention Center with a $2,500 bond pending a court appearance on February 17, according to authorities.
"Ingram was also being held without bond for an outstanding parole violation warrant from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety," the sheriff's office added.