Vikings 1st Round Pick Suffers Brutal Loss In Fraud Scheme – Report

   

Minnesota Vikings edge rusher and 2024 first round pick, Dallas Turner, chasing Detroit Lions running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, in the first quarter on January 5, 2025.

The Minnesota Vikings‘ pass rushing capabilities may be looking about as good as they’ve been in a long time, but one edge rusher has suffered a brutal misfortune.

Second year pro, Dallas Turner, who was selected with the 17th pick in 2024 NFL Draft, has been the victim of a very unfortunate case of fraud, and per police reports, via the Minnesota Star Tribune, has been scammed out of $240,000.

Minnesota Vikings edge rusher and 2024 first round pick, Dallas Turner, chasing Detroit Lions running back, Jahmyr Gibbs, in the first quarter on January 5, 2025.

According to a search warrant affadavit, per the Star Tribune, Turner was contacted by a person pretending to be an employee of JP Morgan Chase, who directed the second year pro to transfer two lots of $120,000 to two separate LLC accounts back in February, in order to protect himself from potential fraud.

Police Affadavit Reveals Dallas Turner’s Fraud Loss

“Turner received a call on Feb. 19 “from an individual impersonating a JP Morgan Chase banker.” the Minnesota Star Tribune reports, “The caller claimed someone was attempting to impersonate [Turner] at a Chase Bank branch in Arizona and presented two copies of ID to execute a wire transfer.”

 

The caller directed Turner to immediately transfer his money to two separate business accounts in an effort to thwart the theft attempt.

That afternoon, Turner went to a Chase branch in Eagan and transferred $120,000 to “Island Food Truck LLC.” Before the day was over, he visited a Chase Bank branch in West St. Paul and transferred another $120,000 to “CNL FL LLC”.

Later, “[Turner] spoke with a family member and determined [he] may have been a victim of a fraud scam.”

Where Do Things Go From Here For Dallas Turner?

Unfortunately, there is not a substantial amount that is able to be done at this point in time.

The Star Tribune reports that whilst there are suspects identified, only around 10% of the money stolen has been recuperated.

“Police Sgt. Rich Evans said the investigation “has identified several suspects,” and his department is moving forward toward charges being filed. Evans added that slightly less than $2,500 of the stolen money has been recovered.”

There is also ongoing action to see whether the security breach that leaked much of Turner’s sensitive data to the bad actors came from internal personnel from the bank.

“Police have asked JPMorgan Chase whether its internal investigation has determined how “the fraudster was able to obtain sensitive account details including Dallas’ full name, linked phone numbers and [his] LLC account info” and whether any bank employees played a role in the scheme, the affidavit noted.”

The 22-year old signed a four year, $15.7 million, fully-guaranteed contract – which included an $8.2 million signing bonus – back in 2024, coming out Alabama. A fact and contract size that likely made him an appealing target for thieves. There has been no comment from the Vikings as of Tuesday morning.