LINN COUNTY, Iowa — An 18-year-old Waterloo man has been arrested in connection with a December robbery in rural Linn County in which authorities say a scam escalated into a violent theft of $10,000.
Quenden Hart was taken into custody Feb. 23 in Waverly with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force for the Northern District of Iowa. He is charged with second-degree robbery, first-degree theft and fraudulent use of credit cards, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. Hart is being held without bond in the Linn County Jail pending an initial court appearance.
The investigation began Dec. 22, 2025, when a victim reported being targeted in a scam involving text messages and phone calls from someone claiming the victim’s bank accounts had been compromised. Authorities said the scammer persuaded the victim to hand over his banking cards and later cash to a person posing as an investigator who was to come to the victim’s residence…