Sarasota, Fla. — A Florida woman found herself out over $12,000 after falling victim to a sophisticated scam involving a fake sheriff’s deputy and a bitcoin ATM, federal authorities reported. The deceptive call, made to a Sarasota resident by an individual claiming to be a deputy, alleged that she had an outstanding warrant due to missed jury duty, pushing her to settle the matter through cryptocurrency.
The orchestrators of this scam were revealed to be Anthony Sanders, a 28-year-old inmate from Georgia, and his accomplice, Marlita Andrews, also 28. According to federal prosecutors, Sanders conducted the elaborate scheme from within the confines of Telfair State Prison in McRae-Helena, utilizing illicitly obtained communication devices. Both Sanders and Andrews were recently indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Sanders’ criminal activities seem to persist despite his incarceration, underscoring a concerning trend of inmates managing to perpetrate scams from behind bars. He was previously incarcerated on charges including involuntary manslaughter and various violations under Georgia’s street gang legislation, and he was documented as a gang member.
Courts documents indicate that immediately following the transfer of the scammed funds, Andrews dispersed the victim’s money across several accounts, following Sanders’ instructions. Sanders was able to direct these financial moves through phones he had access to within the prison facility. Additionally, he had arranged for Andrews to send him prepaid phones delivered via drone to facilitate ongoing communication.
The January 2024 incident is part of a larger pattern of similar schemes dubbed ‘jury duty scams,’ where scammers target unsuspecting citizens by instilling fear and urgency. In this scam, the victim was misled into using a “Bonding Transition Center,” which turned out to be a bitcoin ATM for making the payment, with the funds eventually redirected to a Bitcoin wallet linked to Andrews.
Andrews was arrested in December, followed by Sanders in early January after his December release from state prison. Legal representation for Sanders and Andrews was not immediately clear from court records.
Worryingly, Sarasota authorities have received more than 30 reports of such jury duty scams in 2024 alone, with losses totaling upwards of $150,000. Such incidents spotlight the growing abuse of digital payment platforms and virtual currency in criminal enterprises.
This case has led to heightened scrutiny of illegal activities facilitated from within prison systems, with investigations revealing the use of contraband phones by inmates to coordinate external criminal activities. The unfolding events pose significant concern about the safety and security of the community, as highlighted by prosecutors who regard Sanders as a “serious danger to the community” due to his history of orchestrating crimes from his prison cell.
As troubling as these revelations are, they serve as a critical reminder for the public to remain vigilant about unfamiliar calls demanding payments or personal information, especially those alleging legal consequences such as arrest warrants.
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