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Racine deputies arrest couple in alleged gold bar scam; victims lost $600K.ON ARE NOW RECOMMENDING CHARGES OF FIRST DEGREE RECKLESS HOMICIDE.>> A FLORIDA COUPLE NOW IN CUSTODY IN RACINE COUNTY CHARGED IN A SCAM WHERE VICTIMS LOST MORE THAN $600,000.THE NEW VIDEO SHOWS THE END OF A STING OPERATION TO CATCH THE SUSPECTED COURIERS.DEPUTIES RACED IN AND ARRESTED THE PAIR AT A GAS STATION PARKING LOT.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER JAMES STRATTON TONIGHT STAYING ON THE GOLD BAR SCAM INVESTIGATION MORE THAN A YEAR.HE’S GOT THAT NEW VIDEO.>> PULLING UP TO A GAS PUMP IN RURAL KENOSHA COUNTY, DEPUTIES SWARM POINTING GUNS AT THE WOMAN TO ARREST HER AND RUN INSIDE.THEY’RE AFTER THIS GUY WHO PROSECUTORS SAY IS HER FIANCE.THEY SAY THEY’RE THE PICKUP PAIR AND A GLOBAL GOLD BAR SCAM CHARGING REESE LIGHTNER AND CARISSA SNOW WITH THEFT OVER 100 GRAND BY FALSE REPRESENTATION.THE VICTIMS, AN OLDER COUPLE FROM BURLINGTON WHO LOST ROUGHLY 600 GRAND IN THREE DIFFERENT GOLD BAR PICKUPS, SPEAKING IN COURT ON THURSDAY, 12 NEWS IS NOT SHOWING THEIR FACES TO PROTECT THEIR IDENTITIES.>> OUR MESSAGE, YOU KNOW, EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY, CERTAINLY THIS AFFECTS US AND WILL FOR THE REST OF OUR LIFE.>> PROSECUTORS SAY IT STARTED WITH A COMPUTER WARNING, SAYING AN ACCOUNT WAS HACKED.LATER, THE WOMAN CALLED THE NUMBER TRANSFERRED TO A PERSON PRETENDING TO BE A FEDERAL AGENT CONDUCTING AN IDENTITY THEFT INVESTIGATION, CONVINCING THEM TO LIQUIDATE THEIR ACCOUNTS, CONVERT THE CASH TO GOLD TO KEEP IT SAFE.THE FBI SAYS THE CALLS TYPICALLY COME FROM A CALL CENTER IN INDIA OR SOUTH ASIA.THEY SEND THE STATESIDE COURIERS FOR THE PICKUP.>> IT’S BELIEVED THAT THERE ARE SOME OVERSEAS CODEFENDANTS AS WELL.>> RACINE DEPUTIES TELL 12 NEWS THIS IS PART OF A LARGER FBI INVESTIGATION IN THE U.S.AND OVERSEAS.THE VICTIMS SHARING THIS WARNING.>> THE REAL MESSAGE HERE IS WE NEED SOME HELP TO HELP PROTECT OUR INNOCENT RETIREES.>> YOU WANT TO PROTECT OTHERS?>> BASICALLY, YES.>> 12 NEWS INVESTIGATING THE ISSUE.FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF, SPEAKING TO VICTIMS ACROSS THE STATE WHO HAVE LOST HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, CRIMINAL COMPLAINT IN THIS CASE SAYS THE VICTIMS LOST ROUGHLY $600,000.BY OUR TALLY, 58 VICTIMS ACROSS THE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAVE LOST ALMOST $19 MILLION IN KENOSHA COUNTY.I’M JAMES STRATTO Racine deputies arrest couple in alleged gold bar scam; victims lost $600K Reese Lightner and Carissa Snow are now in custody in the Racine County Jail.Updated: 6:37 PM CDT May 29, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Racine County prosecutors charged a Florida couple with a felony theft charge after they say they were involved as couriers in a gold bar scam that cost a Burlington couple roughly $600,000.Reese Lightner and Carissa Snow are now in custody in the Racine County Jail.Snow is held on a $100,000 bond and Lightner is held on a $50,000 bond.The alleged scam is sweeping the country is costing people their life savings.12 News Investigates has been covering it since November 2024.On Wednesday, Racine deputies teamed up with the victims to set up a sting operation, according to a criminal complaint.Video shows the victims meeting a person on the side of the Benson Corners convenience store in Kenosha County to deliver the package.A short time later, Racine deputies swarm in to arrest Snow and Lightner.A criminal complaint says the victims gave up gold on three previous pickups.On March 12, 2026, they gave up almost $48,000 in gold.On April 7, they gave up more than $346,000, and then on May 1, they gave up $197,000 in gold.The pair "...were scheduled to obtain and deliver additional gold valued at approximately $380,000, which had not yet been turned over at the time law enforcement intervened," the complaint states."Our message, you know, emotionally, physically and mentally, certainly this affects us for the rest of our life," one victim told the court Thursday."The real message here is we need some help to protect our innocent retirees."In this case, the victims say it started with a message saying their Amazon account or card was hacked.Then, they called a phone number and eventually were transferred to a person claiming to be from the federal government involved in an identity theft investigation, the complaint states.The caller claimed to be a man named Benjamin Wiseman and gave a reference number from the Federal Trade Commission, according to the complaint.The calls typically come from overseas call centers in India and South Asia, according to the FBI.From there, the people overseas coordinate with people stateside to pick up the cash or gold as couriers."It's believed there are some overseas co-defendants as well," Racine County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Tanck-Adams said.The criminal complaint states Lightner told police they were talking to a man named "Tom" on the phone and they drove from Florida to the Chicago area to pick up a package for Tom to receive $1,000.FBI Milwaukee did not respond to questions Friday.12 News has been investigating the problem for more than a year.Government officials warn they will never request that you buy gold or other precious metals.If you believe you have been scammed, the FBI wants you to report it here.Victims across Wisconsin have lost almost $19 million in the scam.If you've been involved, we'd like to hear from you.Email Investigate@wisn.com.Top HeadlinesMPS board passes $1.6 billion budgetWisconsin gubernatorial candidate admits to stealing campaign signs Man pinned under boat, killed at Milwaukee boat storage businessWATCH Gun store video shows illegal purchase attempt BURLINGTON, Wis.— Racine County prosecutors charged a Florida couple with a felony theft charge after they say they were involved as couriers in a gold bar scam that cost a Burlington couple roughly $600,000.Reese Lightner and Carissa Snow are now in custody in the Racine County Jail.Snow is held on a $100,000 bond and Lightner is held on a $50,000 bond.The alleged scam is sweeping the country is costing people their life savings.12 News Investigates has been covering it since November 2024.On Wednesday, Racine deputies teamed up with the victims to set up a sting operation, according to a criminal complaint.Video shows the victims meeting a person on the side of the Benson Corners convenience store in Kenosha County to deliver the package.A short time later, Racine deputies swarm in to arrest Snow and Lightner.A criminal complaint says the victims gave up gold on three previous pickups.On March 12, 2026, they gave up almost $48,000 in gold.On April 7, they gave up more than $346,000, and then on May 1, they gave up $197,000 in gold.The pair "...were scheduled to obtain and deliver additional gold valued at approximately $380,000, which had not yet been turned over at the time law enforcement intervened," the complaint states."Our message, you know, emotionally, physically and mentally, certainly this affects us for the rest of our life," one victim told the court Thursday."The real message here is we need some help to protect our innocent retirees." In this case, the victims say it started with a message saying their Amazon account or card was hacked.Then, they called a phone number and eventually were transferred to a person claiming to be from the federal government involved in an identity theft investigation, the complaint states.The caller claimed to be a man named Benjamin Wiseman and gave a reference number from the Federal Trade Commission, according to the complaint.The calls typically come from overseas call centers in India and South Asia, according to the FBI.From there, the people overseas coordinate with people stateside to pick up the cash or gold as couriers."It's believed there are some overseas co-defendants as well," Racine County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Tanck-Adams said.The criminal complaint states Lightner told police they were talking to a man named "Tom" on the phone and they drove from Florida to the Chicago area to pick up a package for Tom to