Georgia Inmate And Associate Indicted For Conspiracy To Commit Wire Fraud In Jury Duty Scam

Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Anthony Sanders, a/k/a "Slanga" (28, McRae-Helena, GA) and Marlita Andrews (28, Macon, GA) with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, Sanders and Andrews each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Sanders and Andrews that the United States intends to forfeit $12,825, which is alleged to represent proceeds obtained from the offense.

According to court documents, Sanders, an inmate in a Georgia prison, and Andrews, his associate outside the prison, conspired to defraud a victim of over $12,000. A victim in Sarasota reported that she received a call from a scammer impersonating a deputy with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, who stated that a warrant was issued for her arrest because she missed jury duty. The victim was directed to a "Bonding Transition Center" to make payment to satisfy the warrant. In reality, the "Bonding Transition Center" was a Bitcoin ATM machine, which allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

The victim deposited over $12,000 into three separate accounts as cryptocurrency, as instructed. The victim's funds were then quickly transferred from those accounts into a bitcoin wallet belonging to Andrews. By the next day, all funds were dispersed from Andrews' account into several other accounts. The investigation revealed that Sanders participated in this scheme and used phones in prison to direct Andrews where to send profits of the scam. Sanders also directed Andrews to purchase prepaid phones to send to him in prison, via a drone.

In such scams, individuals impersonate real law enforcement or court officials, call victims, and claim that a warrant is out for their arrest because they missed jury duty. To avoid immediate arrest, the victim is advised they must pay a fine or deposit money into an account. Scammers often provide personal information about the victim, such as their correct home address and date of birth, and the caller ID of the scammer will often match the telephone number of a local law enforcement agency. Law enforcement investigation has revealed that inmates in Georgia state prisons are participating in this scheme by using illegally obtained prepaid phones and that associates outside the prison may assist with receiving the funds or transferring them to other accounts.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and FBI Tampa Division - Sarasota Resident Agency, with assistance from the FBI - Atlanta Division - Macon Resident Agency and Atlanta Field Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ross Roberts.