Three suspects in a $200,000 fraud and extortion investigation were taken into custody

Three suspects in a $200,000 fraud and extortion investigation were taken into custody Thursday in Thurston County. They were booked into the Thurston County Jail on charges of residential burglary and attempted first-degree theft.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the case since spring of 2008, when the suspects allegedly tried to sell a replacement mobile home to a victim. The suspects allegedly told the victim his home needed to be demolished, and they would help replace it. Detectives say the suspects kept asking for money in amounts ranging from $15,000 to nearly $40,000, but they never produced the home. They told the victim if he didn't pay he would be evicted.
The suspects were taken into custody last week, when they again contacted the 78-year-old victim, forced his way into his home on Loganberry Street and attempted to get more money. They are being held without bail.