Bail bonds scheme defrauds Pinellas County family, leaves loved one in custody

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is warning of a rise in a type of a phone scam aimed at targeting the loved ones of those in custody.

Criminals are impersonating sheriff's deputies, and in some cases, bail bondsmen, asking for money to be transferred via Bitcoin in order to release someone on bond.

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"You are taking advantage of people at their lowest," said Laura Hearle, whose family was scammed.

Hearle said her niece was arrested in the spring, and the same evening, her family received a call from a man claiming to be a Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy.

"He said we need to bail her out, because now there's been a fight and she was involved in the fight. She touched an officer, now she's going to get another charge and blah, blah, blah. It was additional money," Hearle said.

The man pretending to be a deputy asked them to bring the bail money, approximately $2,000, to a Bitcoin ATM nearby. The jail was never paid, and Hearle's niece did not bond out.

"My brother thought he was going to go have to pawn his truck title to try to cover for the $2,000. He didn't have the money to do it again," Hearle said.

Local bail bondsmen serving Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties also claim that these criminals have used their likeness to go even further with the scheme.

"Me and as well as some of my friends, they are using our names. They are using our names, to solicit business to people to defraud them," said Nick Dennis, with Nick of Time Bail Bonds.

Dennis claims that he has clients come to him following the spoofed phone calls, hoping there's a way out.

"I've had people lose up to $20,000," Dennis said.

Both Dennis and Hearle have filed reports with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

"The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will NEVER call or text citizens requesting money over the telephone and will never ask for banking information to wire money. We advise citizens not to give personal information or account information over the phone and call the Sheriff's Office to report suspicious activity," said the law enforcement agency's warning on these scammers.