Sheriff Brad White and Lt. Chad Payne, assistant commander of the LCSO criminal investigations division, are warning Lamar countians to beware of the so-called ‘grand jury’ scam that has surfaced in Monroe, Henry and Bibb counties. In Monroe County, residents began to receive phone calls from a male claiming to be Lt. Blackwell that was a member of the MCSO warrants division. The male would give the victims full name, address, and spouse information to the victim then claim that they had missed a subpoena for grand jury on July 30th. Lt. Blackwell, who does not exist, would then inform them that they would have an arrest warrant placed for their arrest unless a specified amount of money (usually $1000-$1500) was paid. The victim would be told to go to a local Green Dot Money Pack location (CVS Pharmacy in Forsyth), and place the specified amount of money on the card. Fortunately, in Monroe County, a citizen who was one of the first to be called went to the sheriff. Notices regarding the scam were reproduced and delivered to businesses in Monroe County to notify potential victims before the money was placed on the cards. Monroe County currently has not had any reported victims to the transaction of funds. Also, a county wide phone call was made to residents notifying them of the scam in progress. Lamar residents are urged to be on the lookout for such fraudulent calls. In Monroe County, they came from this cell number: 478.206.7707. If you receive such a call, notify Lt. Payne at 770.358.5159 immediately.
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