How bad is it?
So I fell for a romance scam like an idiot. They built trust with me and I trusted like an idiot. They offered to help with a bill, at no point mentioning sending the money further. They gave me bank info which was then used to pay a credit card bill. They then asked me to move money more. I realized it was a scam and contacted my credit card company to cancel the transaction, but they told me it was too late since they were the receiver and not the sender. This was after hours, so the sender was not available to stop the transaction either. If it matters, I contacted my bank same day as the transaction and I believe within 30 minutes, as soon as the scammer asked me to move the money elsewhere for them.
I filed an FTC case and FBI IC3 (I think) report same day, as well as a local police report the next day (took me a while to figure out how to). As of now, 36 hours later, my credit card is investigating the fraudulent payments made to me (2 within half hour to/from same account) because I reported it to them. The bank that the money came from I intend to speak to tomorrow so they are aware of the compromised account and can start the investigation on their side. The money has posted to my account and I now have a zero balance but am making my statement payment anyway (and would pay in full but Cap1 doesn't allow that).
I know that this puts me at high risk for Cap1 closing my account for high risk behavior, and that will be a valid lesson learned if that happens (I hope not but understand why it would be).
More importantly, is there a risk of criminal prosecution? I know I should speak to a lawyer but am freaking out and it's a Sunday. Online it says this was a money mule scam and that if I was a mule I could be prosecuted regardless of intent. Am I a money mule if I never passed the money on and reported it to my bank before the transaction even posted, as well as the other bank? If it matters, I'm in the USA and was in California at the time but am a resident of Texas. Also I have saved all messages including the death threats I received after stopping responding to the scammer. Has anyone else gone through this or anything like it? TIA for any advice even if it's not what I want to hear.