What we know about the shooting death of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scandal surrounding it -bloggerheart

It was a typical scam that ended tragically with an unusual outcome in an Ohio driveway.

Authorities said this week that William J. Brock fatally shot an Uber driver because he mistakenly believed she was part of a scheme to extort $12,000 in purported bond money from a relative. Lo-Letha Hall was a victim of the same fraud, having been called to Brock's home by grifters to receive a purported package for delivery.

Brock later told investigators that he believed Hall came to the scammers to obtain the money they wanted.

Now he is accused of murder, for which he has declared himself innocent. Hall's family is in mourning. And Uber is helping investigators catch whoever was behind the fraud attempt.

Experts say the bribes, commonly known as grandparent scams or frauds, exploit older people's love for their families. The callers claim to be anyone from grandchildren to the police and tell victims that something terrible has happened and that their younger relative needs money.

Here's what we know about the shooting and the investigation so far:

Brock, 81, received scam calls on the morning of March 25 at his home in South Charleston, a town of about 1,800 people between Dayton and Columbus. According to a statement from the Clark County Sheriff's Office, the calls were about an incarcerated relative and “devolved into threats and demands for money.”

The sheriff's office said that while Brock was on the phone, Hall received a request through the Uber app to pick up a package for delivery from Brock's home. Hall, 61, of Columbus, was unaware of the attempted scam.

“When approached by Ms. Hall, Mr. Brock pulled out a gun and held her at gunpoint, demanding the identification of the subjects he had spoken to on the phone,” the Sheriff's Office said.

The Sheriff's Office said Hall was unarmed and never threatened Brock or made any demands on him.

The Sheriff's Office said Brock took Hall's cellphone and refused to let her go. When he tried to get back to his car, Brock shot him. Later during a scuffle he shot her a second time and a third time.

Brock then called 911 to report that he had shot someone on his property who was trying to rob him.

Police body camera footage shows him briefly discussing what he had said.

“I'm certainly glad to see you guys here because I've been on the phone for a couple of hours talking with this guy trying to tell me that I had a nephew in jail and had an accident in Charleston Was and just hung up and Brock said, “Need bond money. And this woman deserved it.”

The footage shows investigators sitting at a table in Brock's home discussing the $12,000.

The footage also shows a Clark County Sheriff's Office detective at Brock's home speaking on the phone with a man who had previously been talking to Brock. He identified himself as an officer and told the detective, “You're going to be in trouble.”

The call was disconnected when the detective identified himself as a real police officer. During a subsequent phone call with the man, the detective told him the Uber driver had been injured in a serious accident, was in the hospital and “is not doing well.”

The man told the detective he would be there in 20 minutes. He was not.

Brock was charged Monday with murder, assault and kidnapping. He posted $200,000 bail and was released from Clark County Jail on Wednesday. His attorney, Paul Kavanaugh, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Anthony Pratkanis, an emeritus psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said grandparent scams have become increasingly common over the past 10 to 15 years — partly because of the abundance of personal information available online about people.

Pratkanis, whose research includes fraud crimes, said criminals obtain specific details about someone's relative on social media and use the information to convince victims that their loved one is in trouble.

“Basically what the criminal is doing is taking advantage of our human nature,” he said. “You're in a state of panic, high emotional arousal. This is an appeal to fear. And the best way to get rid of that fear is to give that money to the criminal.

Pratkanis said fraudsters typically prefer financial transactions that do not require physical proximity, such as wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrencies. This case is unusual because the scammers positioned Hall as an unsuspecting person.

“In scams like this today, most people don't actually interact with the criminal — there's a distance,” Pratkanis said. “But when that doesn't happen, the anger at being victimized causes the victim to take action.”

Uber said Wednesday it was helping investigators look into the account that sent Hall to Brock's home. The ride-hailing company described Hall's death as “a terrible tragedy.”

An obituary for Hall describes them as the parents of a son and a stepson, a devoted member of their church, and a talented cook known for delicious pound cakes.

She retired from Ohio's regional income tax agency and also worked in behavioral health at a school and for Uber. He studied horticulture at Ohio State and started a janitorial business.

In a memorial service streamed online, his son Mario Hall described how close they were despite living in different states, often speaking on the phone several times a day. He said that they had “a bond like no other.”

“Thank you for all your sacrifices and everything you have instilled in me,” he said. “You are the best mom anyone could ask for. And I promise I will keep making you proud.”