Nixa woman Sarah Mills is charged with felony money laundering, stealing and conspiracy for allegedly impersonating celebrities to convince elderly people to send her money.
According to a probable cause statement, Mills “knowingly and repeatedly participated in a scam, depriving the victims of funds totaling $22,350” between April 2024 and June 2025.
Charging documents allege that one of Mills’ victims believed that he was in a relationship and sending money to actress Nicola Coughlan. Another victim believed she was sending money to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to help him get out of his contract with the team.

Mills deposited some of the money into her own accounts for personal use, “while converting other portions of the funds to Bitcoin in furtherance of the scam,” according to the probable cause statement. She allegedly worked with other people to collect and convert the funds.
Summer Rascoll, director of communications for the city of Nixa, stated that the Nixa Police Department worked with various agencies in Virginia, New Mexico, Ohio and South Carolina to investigate the case.
The Nixa Police Department issued a press release about the case on Dec. 2 after Mills was arrested and booked into the Christian County Jail on a 24-hour hold. Christian County Sheriff’s Captain Colton Craig told the Daily Citizen that Mills was released because the sheriff’s office did not receive a warrant within that timeframe.
Christian County Prosecuting Attorney Kristen Tuohy filed formal charges and a warrant for Mills on Dec. 5. Her cash-only bond is set at $25,000.
Zoe McIntyre
Zoe McIntyre was born and raised in the Springfield area. She covers Springfield’s surrounding communities, like Nixa, Ozark and Republic. While a student at Evangel University, she enjoyed working on staff at the school’s radio station and newspaper, where she served as editor in chief for one year. When she isn’t persuading her friends to read more news, she enjoys cooking and thrifting. More by Zoe McIntyre


















