Uber is helping investigators in the case of driver Loletha Hall, who was murdered by an 81-year-old Ohio man

Uber is helping investigators look into an account that sent a driver to an Ohio home where an 81-year-old man allegedly shot and killed a girl because he mistakenly believed she was involved in a fraud scheme targeting him, the ride-hailing company said. Wednesday.

The shooting death of Loletha Hall on March 25 is a “terrible tragedy” and the account has since been disabled, an Uber spokesman wrote in an emailed statement. “Our hearts continue to go out to Loletha’s loved ones as they mourn.”

On Monday, William J. Brock was charged with murder, felonious assault and kidnapping in reference to Hall’s death. Messages in search of comment were left with him and his attorney, Paul Kavanagh of Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday.

The grand jury also found that the gun confiscated from Brock’s home, a .22-caliber revolver, was subject to forfeiture. Bronek pleaded not guilty.

Police said Brock called 911 before noon to say he had shot someone at his South Charleston home, claiming Hall was attempting to rob him. Investigators later said the driver was unaware that Brock had received a fraudulent phone call containing threats and demands for money, citing an incarcerated relative.

Hall “did not threaten or attack Mr. Brock or make any demands other than asking about the package he was sent for via Uber,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an April 11 news release. Police said Brock “retrieved a gun and held it at gunpoint, demanding to know the identities of the people he was talking to on the phone.”

It’s unclear what exactly the callers told Brock, but the sheriff’s office press release included a reminder, especially to older people, that law enforcement and courts don’t solicit money in exchange for bail “in the manner applicable to this case.”

“We encourage all citizens to be extremely cautious when unexpectedly coming into contact with anyone claiming to be a relative of an incarcerated person or having direct knowledge of an incarcerated relative,” the sheriff’s office warned.

In January, the FBI issued a warning about government impersonation scams in which couriers send couriers to the homes of their targets – often elderly people – to gather money or trick them into purchasing gold and other precious metals. The FBI said its Internet Crime Complaint Center noted that such activity resulted in losses of greater than $55 million in the last eight months of 2023.

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A 2021 study of older adults in the Chicago area found that when a fictitious government agency notified those who their personal data had been breached, those with low fraud awareness were particularly vulnerable.

Police say the Uber ride to Hall to choose up the package was ordered by the same person who made the fraudulent calls to Brock, or by an accomplice.

Brock is accused of taking Hall’s mobile phone and never letting her out, then shooting her as she tried to get into her vehicle. The sheriff’s office said it was investigating the male’s “initial fraudulent telephone call to Mr. Brock” and the order for a package to be delivered via the app.

Brock shot Hall twice more, suffering a minor head injury himself during the confrontation, after which called 911, police said. Hall, a Columbus resident who police said was unarmed, later died at the hospital.

He posted $200,000 bail and was released from the Clark County Jail on Wednesday. FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren of the agency’s Cincinnati office said it was aware of the murder but declined to verify or deny whether it was involved.

In the obituary, which listed her name as Lo-Letha “Letha” Toland-Hall, Hall was described as the mother of a son and stepson, a faithful member of her church and a talented cook known for her delicious pound cakes. She retired from the Ohio Regional Income Tax Agency and worked in behavioral health in school and for Uber. She studied horticulture at Ohio State and began a cleansing business.