FBI helps Chittenden Solid Waste District recover $2.3 million lost in phishing scam - wcax.com

Share Add as a preferred source on Google WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) - The Chittenden Solid Waste District will recover most of the nearly $3 million it lost in a cyber phishing scam discovered this past January, thanks to help from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office. “It was devastating to have this happen to us and we did not expect to get any of the money back,” said CSWD Executive Director Sarah Reeves. It happened amid CSWD’s efforts to build a new recycling facility in Williston. Back in January, scammers sent fake invoices to CSWD over email, posing as its construction partners for the new facility. The district then paid out more than $3 million before learning the invoices were fake. They quickly notified law enforcement. “Because we reported it to our bank immediately, they were able to lock down the account and then go with the process of trying to get the money back,” Reeves said. Related articles CSWD board calls for internal investigation into $3 million fraud CSWD warns others after losing nearly $3 million to phishing scam Chittenden Solid Waste District loses $3M in phishing scam Now, thanks to help from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, they’re getting about $2.3 million back. Reeves says the real construction company did not stop working when the funds were lost. “They just kept on going because they trusted that we would figure it out,” she said. CSWD processes two-thirds of Vermont’s recycled waste. The project these funds were stolen from seeks to streamline that process by adding new machines for sorting. “This is going to ensure that we have capacity to process even more material for the next 30, 40, 50 years,” Reeves said. The new recycling facility is set to open on time in January 2027 with no time wasted from the scam. In a statement Tuesday evening, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said some of the money had already been spent or transferred out of the account before it could be frozen and subsequently seized. They’re still working to investigate the case. Copyright 2026 WCAX. All rights reserved.