ASHLAND, Ore. — Southern Oregon University has recovered less than one-third of the $1.9 million that it was tricked into paying to criminals posing as construction contractors.
The Mail Tribune reported Tuesday that in April, the university wired the money to fraudsters who pretended to be contractors in charge of working on the McNeal Pavilion and Student Recreation Center project. University spokesman Joe Mosley says just $609,000 has been recovered.
FBI Portland Bureau spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said she wasn’t aware of any suspects charged in the fraud scheme, but wasn’t able to verify.
It’s not yet known whether the university has an insurance policy to cover the loss, or how exactly the university fell prey to the scam, in which suspects posed as Andersen Construction in spoofed emails and phone calls.
