A Minnesota man has been taken into custody as the result of a month long scam investigation.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office coordinated with their Minnesota counterparts resulting in the arrest of 55-year-old Richard Robert Kohls, of Burnsville, Minnesota. Kohls is being held in the Dakota County, Minnesota Jail, pending extradition to Cherokee County. This arrest comes after Cherokee County Detectives identified him as the suspect involved in a phone scam, resulting in the theft of nearly $50,000 from a Cherokee County resident between October and December.

Sheriff David Groves says this case serves as a good reminder of the phone scams targeting people, particularly seniors, across the country. He says with this particular case, the suspect posed as a representative of a sweepstakes, telling the victim a prize had been won, but taxes had to first be paid prior to it being awarded.