HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Hall County deputies arrested two New York men accused of trying to scam local couples out of thousands of dollars in a phone scam. The sheriff’s office is now working to identify other potential victims.
Brandon Massey, 23, and Jamal Davis, 28, were arrested as they arrived to the house of an elderly North Hall County couple to collect $12,000 in cash that they were scamming them out of, according to the sheriff’s office.
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Deputies say that in this scam, the scammer will call a potential victim and tell them that a family member, typically one of their grandchildren, is in legal trouble and that they need cash to secure bond or pay a legal fee.
The scammer will request more than $10,000 in cash and then send one or two “representatives” to the victim’s home to collect the money.
When officers arrived to arrest Massey and Davis, Massey tried driving away, but his car was blocked in by patrol vehicles.
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Massey is being charged with exploitation of an elder person, fleeing/attempting to elude a police officer, obstruction of an officer and reckless driving.
Davis is being charged with exploitation of an elderly person.
After the arrests, Hall County investigators warned other law enforcement agencies across Georgia to be on the lookout for scammers.
Authorities in Walton, Fannin and Hart counties were able to identify similar scammers in their areas and arrest suspects as they came to collect money.
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Investigators later identified a lead scammer who makes the calls and coordinates the “representatives” who collect the funds. The head scammer’s base of operations is in New Jersey and New York. Authorities say his scam could reach as far west as Nebraska.
Hall County investigators are now working alongside the FBI and the IRS on this case.
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