Full article say cops seized over 600 checks that fools had sent her and traced around $30k in Western Union wire transfers.
I think those were blank checks (probably counterfeit) that she'd make out (doctored to look certified) and send to the idiots so that they'd wire funds before the checks bounced.
I think the victims should voluntarily terminate their internet connections for the good of humanity. If they're opening and responding to an email scam this old, it's not hard to imagine that their computers are now fully-owned subsidiaries of viral overlords.