An Oregon woman pleaded guilty on November 4 in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court to one count of money laundering, a third-degree felony, in a phishing scam that diverted more than $82,000 from an Ohio dispensary chain with a facility in the Zanesville area, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported.
Arianna May Stark, 27, of Oregon, entered the plea at a change-of-plea hearing, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported. She had originally been indicted in June on 22 charges — one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; one count of telecommunications fraud, a third-degree felony; one count of grand theft, a fourth-degree felony; and 19 counts of money laundering, third-degree felonies — and 21 of those charges are expected to be dropped as part of the plea agreement, the Times Recorder reported.
The scam, as described in the hearing reported by the Times Recorder, began with a phishing email impersonating a large bank chain that asked the business to update its account information. That message led to more than $82,000 in fraudulent transactions in February, March and April, the Times Recorder reported…