Butler County sheriff warns of bond scam

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones warns residents about a scam in which a caller poses as a sheriff’s employee demanding money. GREG LYNCH / STAFF

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones warns residents about a scam in which a caller poses as a sheriff’s employee demanding money. GREG LYNCH / STAFF

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones is warning the public that a scam artist is trying to trick people into paying a bond that they do not owe.

Jones announced that a victim of a recent scam arrived at the sheriff’s office looking for Sgt. Owens and stated he had paid his fines and was there to meet him.

“He indicated that he had received a phone call from ‘Sgt. Owens’ with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office stating that he had failed to appear for jury duty and now owes a surety bond. The bond amount was around $1,300,” Jones said.

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The scam victim had put a large sum of money on a green dot card from a local CVS store and then read the numbers on the back of the card so the suspect could intercept the money according to the report filed with the sheriff’s office.

“I am concerned that these criminals are using law enforcement names to scam people out of their money. Most of the time, these thugs are not in this country, but I would like anyone with information on scammers to contact us immediately,” Jones said. “They tend to prey on the elderly and sometimes these poor people fall for this.”

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He added that the Butler County Sheriff’s Office would not ask for money by phone for any reason. If anyone receives a phone call asking for money from anyone stating they are an employee from the sheriff’s office, it is a scam.