Criminals love to taunt law enforcement officials. You’ve seen it in countless crime caper movies, but it usually doesn’t happen in a story that involves a crime like insurance or disability fraud.

But a relatively boring crime wasn’t enough to stop one fraudster from becoming a fugitive, crossing the US border and hiding out in Mexico while taunting the cops with a series of playful tweets. She even encouraged the San Diego County District Attorney to “catch me if you can.”

Well, they could, and they did.

 

Insurance and Disability Fraudster Gets Caught

60-year-old Wanda Lee Ann Progurski, a former Amtrak employee, was convicted last week of 29 felony counts of insurance and disability fraud. She also skipped bail and went to Mexico, requiring that she be sentenced in absentia.

The former Amtrak clerk’s crime? Pretending to be so sick that she needed in-home care, taking the insurance money that she got as a result, and then cruising on a global travel extravaganza that would’ve made Jules Verne’s jaw drop.

Stealing more than $650,000 will get you noticed, though, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when she was nabbed due to her crimes. As soon as she got out on bail, Progurski ran for the boder and  promptly set about goading law enforcement officials on Twitter.

Careful What You Wish For

A color image of two birds that look like the Twitter logo.

If the old phrase “sing like a bird” is any indication, Twitter might not be the best place to brag about criminal activity.

Progurski probably thought she was being pretty funny when she sent out a series of tweets with messages like “Catch me if you can.”

After all, she only had one follower. But that follower was San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumains.

For the record, this is probably the very last person that you want to have as your only follower when you’re a fugitive criminal running from the law and tweeting repeatedly that you dare the police to come and arrest you.

Now she’ll have to serve the 20 years in prison that she got for her original 29 felonies, in addition to whatever charges she wracked up by skipping town.

Hope that super fun vacation was worth it, Wanda. Because you’re about to go on a much, much longer one.

 

See Also

Facebook Finally Gets Hashtags: What This Means for You
Kentucky Man Busted for ‘Catch Me If You Can’ Checking Scam with a Smartphone Twist
Weird News: Walmart Scammers Vomit On Video Game Receipts to Get Refunds

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