Baytown man on the run after allegedly scamming company out of 20K for 60 tons of chicken feet

Vanquil Marquis Jones, 26, is charged with one count of money laundering, more than $150,000 but less than $300,000. Vanquil Marquis Jones, 26, is charged with one count of money laundering, more than $150,000 but less than $300,000. Photo: Harris County District Attorney’s Office Photo: Harris County District Attorney’s Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Baytown man on the run after allegedly scamming company out of 20K for 60 tons of chicken feet 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Baytown man is on the run after an investigation revealed he allegedly scammed a California company out of $20,000 for 60 tons of chicken feet and three elderly women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the women was a cancer patient that said she fell in love with a man online that police later confirmed was the same man.

Vanquil Marquis Jones, 26, is charged with one count of money laundering, more than $150,000 but less than $300,000, according to a release from the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

The investigation started in Sept. 2018 when Los Angeles police reported the owner of a company based there was scammed out of $19,800 for 60 tons of chicken feet by an individual by the name of "Michael Lamson." The person identifying himself as Lamson said he was the point of contact for Tyson Food International, unrelated to the Tyson Foods Corporation, according to the release.

The owner told LAPD he wired the money to the person identifying himself as Lamson but never received a shipment. Police tracked the wire transaction to a Bank of America in Baytown and discovered the "Tyson Food International" Bank of America account belonged to Jones, the release stated.

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"Baytown Police confirmed through bank records the defendant indeed received the $19,800 and withdrew all funds from the account within a week of the wire transaction," the release stated.

In an initial interview with Baytown Police, Jones said "Tyson Food International," was a catering business he owned and admitted he chose the name because it sounds similar to "Tyson Foods Corporation," according to the release. Jones stopped cooperating with officers shortly thereafter and has not been located since.

"This investigation revealed how this one individual was able to wreak havoc on the lives of several people from the comfort of his home, behind a computer," Assistant District Attorney Keith Houston said. "Financial crimes are very complex and can take months of investigation, but we will not stop until we find him and hold him accountable."

Jones also allegedly scammed three elderly women, ages 64, 65, and 67, out of a combined total loss of $211,653. Per the release, one of the women was a cancer patient and said she fell in love with a man she sent thousands of dollars online. The money was sent to the same Baytown Bank of America account belonging to Jones, the release stated.

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"There's no doubt in mind that if he can continue these online scams, he absolutely will," said Houston. "We're hoping someone can come forward to help us locate him."

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message

