KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Someone stole $758,075.46 from the Knoxville Public Building Authority in a wire fraud incident, according to an incident report from the Knoxville Police Department. Some of the funds have been recovered, KPBA said.
On Thursday, a KPD officer spoke to a woman who had reported a wire fraud incident. She said her office received an email from what appeared to be a regular vendor with a slightly different email address. The email reportedly said that the vendor had changed its account and routing numbers for payments.
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Believing this to be legitimate, the KPBA wired over $750,000 to the fraudulent vendor. KPBA has also contacted the FBI, which told it to file a report with local law enforcement.
“Because our insurance claim and incident is currently under investigation, I am not at liberty to speak further on this incident,” KPBA CEO Jayne Burritt said. “I can tell you we were spoofed, have recovered some of the funds and hope to be made whole by our insurance company. I hope you can understand.”
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KPBA is a separate entity from the Knox County government. It acts as the owner’s representative for the city and county on some projects. This payment was for the Summer Place Complex buildout, and it will not have an impact on the project because PBA has reserves, according to Knox County CFO Chris Caldwell…