Feds: Con Executed Elaborate Jury Duty Scam From Behind Bars
No one likes jury duty, but even worse is when you fall victim to a scam because of it.
Sanders, who is an inmate in a Georgia prison, and Andrews, described as his associate outside the prison, managed to defraud a victim of more than $12,000, according to an indictment obtained by The Daily Muck.
If convicted, Sanders and Andrews each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Claimed a Warrant Was Issued for Skipping Jury Duty
Court documents state that the victim from Sarasota, Fla., reported that she received a call from a person claiming to be a deputy at the Sarasota Couty Sheriff’s Office, who claimed that the warrant was issued for her arrest because she failed to appear on her jury duty.
She was then instructed to go to a “Bonding Transition Center” to make a payment to avoid arrest.
The victim followed the scammer’s instructions, depositing over $12,000 into three separate accounts as cryptocurrency. The money was transferred to a crypto wallet controlled by Andrews. The next day, all the funds were transferred from her account and deposited into several other accounts.
Co-Conspirator Allegedly Took Instructions from Sanders
Police say their investigation revealed that Sanders organized this scheme by using prison phones to give Andrews instructions on where to send the money received via the scam and to use a drone to send prepaid phones to him in prison.
Jury Duty Scams
These scams often work because people are afraid of going to jail for missing jury duty.
In these scams, an individual impersonates real law enforcement or court officials, telling victims there is a warrant out for their arrest for missing jury duty. The victim is then instructed to pay a fine or transfer the money into an account.
Scammers sometimes have personal information about the victim, including their home address, date of birth and basic identity information. They also use spoofed numbers to make the calls so that they appear to come from legitimate law enforcement agencies.
Authorities also called everyone who was possibly a victim of this type of fraud to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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