Man accused of defrauding people including elderly man in Morgan County

COLUMBUS, Ohio- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that an Alaska man is facing criminal charges for allegedly defrauding people in Ohio and other states out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, 30-year-old Andrew Jensen, of Anchorage, Alaska, was arraigned on Monday in the Morgan County Court of Common Pleas. He was previously indicted by a Morgan County grand jury on 29 felony counts that included telecommunications fraud, identity fraud, grand theft of a motor vehicle, theft from the elderly, money laundering, and misuse of credit cards.

According to investigators, Jensen lied to people (claiming he was a successful businessman or military veteran, for example) to convince them to give him money, property, or services. He allegedly made misleading statements to obtain loans, lines of credit, vehicles, and other goods or services. Investigators believe at least 22 people, including an elderly man in Morgan County, have been affected and that losses total more than $450,000.

An attorney with the Ohio Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit (a division of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section) has been appointed by the Morgan County Prosecutor to handle the case as a special prosecutor. The case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit and Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.