Petaluma woman warns others about TikTok scam after her husband’s ashes were held for ransom

The North Bay widow said she was trying to honor her late husband. But TikTok scammers stepped in to try and steal from her.

Since her husband John died in November 2019, Petaluma resident Jocelyn Cronin said she sought support from other widows. She found it on TikTok.

“The widower community on TikTok is amazing. Overall, it’s 99% amazing. I support you,” she said.

Last month, Cronin saw a TikTok video on how to honor a loved one who, like her firefighter paramedic husband, was cremated.

She said she commented on the video and received an immediate response. A prospective artist, also a widow, offered to make her a portrait from John’s ashes.

“And I put them in a ‘if it fits, I’ll ship’ box and sent it to a Georgia address,” Cronin said.

A few days later, Cronin’s TikTok contact emailed her from a fake account.

“It said: “We seized the ashes and portrait of your loved one, this is illegal. To get them back, you’ll have to pay $3,756.” It was then that I realized that I had been deceived,” she said.

Cronin refused to pay the ransom, but the scammers were ruthless, calling and texting her repeatedly, demanding payment, trolling her on TikTok, and threatening to destroy the ashes if she didn’t comply.

Cronin posted the video to TikTok warning others about the scam.

Concerned for her safety, Cronin contacted the Petaluma Police Department. She said she also tried to contact the FBI and local Georgia police to report the crime.

Now all Cronin has left is the remaining ashes in the urn above her mantelpiece and inside her necklace.

“Some people say it’s not dust, it’s all around you. I know it. But you know what? I was entrusted with this ashes. Don’t be defiled. This is an outrage on human remains. This is the theft of human remains. This is extortion. And that’s what’s killing me,” she said.

On Friday, Petaluma police told NBC Bay Area that they had contacted Cronin and updated their list of scam alerts to include it, hoping no one else would fall for it.