How Iowa Is Beating Scammers at their Own Game
Two investigators, $84 million in fraud, a few pizzas, and a plan to make Iowa inhospitable to scammers.
Episode 69: When Iowa passed legislation letting insurers and securities firms flag suspicious disbursements before money disappears, it gave Iowa Insurance Division investigators Matt Mortvedt and Jessica McGraw something rare: a head start. In their conversation with Erin West, they describe knocking on doors within hours of a red flag, using scam targets as “informants” to help seize couriers’ cash, and tracing crypto wallets tied to scam networks.
They’ve learned website takedowns from college cyber clubs, built trust so deep that victims send them Christmas cards, and helped drive a 600% increase in cases since 2022. Their approach: Make Iowa too expensive and difficult for scammers to operate in.
Their team has identified $84 million in fraud this year, and seized $3.5 million within 24 hours of a single tip. They combine victim-centered recovery support with education programs, and hope to expand multidisciplinary regional teams, phone-number alerts, and peer support groups statewide.
Prefer the audio version? Find Stolen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major platforms.
5 Things Helping Stop Scams in Iowa
#1 Iowa’s legislative backbone enables early intervention. Iowa’s 2021 Uniform Securities Act amendment — and a companion insurance-sector law effective July 2025 — lets brokers and insurers delay disbursements they suspect are fraud-related and report them to the state, giving investigators a head start before victims lose everything.
#2 “Detect, deploy, disrupt” redefines success. Rather than focusing solely on arrests, the team measures success through disruption — seizing scam websites, freezing crypto wallets, and intercepting couriers — since most perpetrators operate overseas and are unlikely to be extradited.
#3 Hands-on learning drives technical capability. The investigators built their website-takedown and crypto-tracing skills by attending Operation Shamrock’s Crypto Coalition conference. They gathered information from an Iowa State University cyber club by bringing pizza to a meeting, then passed those skills to interns and partner agencies.
#4 Victim support must be trauma-informed and long-term. Investigators stay engaged from first contact through recovery. They work to help victims regain security, reduce negative stigma by framing them as crime victims, and are developing peer support groups to combat isolation and re-victimization.
#5 Scale and future goals remain ambitious. With only two dedicated senior-exploitation investigators covering a rural state and cases up 600% since 2022, the team wants to expand crypto-wallet seizures, launch phone-number fraud alerts, formalize training MOUs with local agencies, and build regional victim support networks.
Just because it was done through deception and not force doesn’t make it less of a crime, and it doesn’t make them less of a victim. — Jessica McGraw, Iowa Insurance Division
What Can You Do to Help?
If your state hasn't passed legislation allowing financial institutions to delay disbursements based on suspected exploitation, ask your state legislators why not. Iowa and Nebraska have already shown it works. And if you have an aging parent or relative, have the “expect a scam call” conversation with them before the holidays, not after.
Scroll down for: Useful Links - Guest Bios - Sponsors - More Stolen
Useful Links
Who Are Matt Mortvedt and Jessica McGraw?
The Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau is dedicated to using the latest technologies to detect sophisticated fraud schemes that affect Iowa consumers.
Matt Mortvedt joined the Iowa Insurance Division in 2019 as a Special Investigator with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau. In 2022 he was promoted to Bureau Chief and leads a team of eight sworn investigators and an Intelligence Analyst who are tasked with investigating alleged insurance fraud, securities fraud, and senior financial exploitation. Before joining the Iowa Insurance Division, he served with the Ankeny Police Department for 13 years as a Patrol Officer, Narcotics Detective, and General Crimes Detective.
Jessica McGraw is a Senior Financial Exploitation Investigator with the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services, bringing over a decade of public and private sector experience to the fight against elder financial abuse. She collaborates extensively with financial and law enforcement partners to halt scams and protect seniors. Jessica holds a degree in criminology and is a certified criminal intelligence analyst and forensic interviewer, specializing in trauma-informed victim care.
Subscribe to Stolen for straight truth, survivor-centered storytelling, and bold conversations about the scamdemic and the people fighting back. Find Stolen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major podcast platforms.
Sponsors of Stolen
BioCatch prevents financial crime by recognizing patterns in human behavior, continuously collecting 3,000 anonymized data points – keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behavior, physical device attributes, and more – as people interact with their digital banking platforms. With these inputs, BioCatch's models reveal patterns that distinguish the criminal from the legitimate.
Scamnetic is a leader in AI-powered scam detection and prevention, protecting individuals, businesses, and financial institutions from digital scams. With solutions like KnowScam, IDeveryone, and PayVerify, Scamnetic delivers real-time scam insights, identity verification, and intervention. Restoring trust, reducing losses, and empowering organizations to safeguard customers in an increasingly complex digital world.
Recent Episodes of Stolen
