MILWAUKEE — A sophisticated jury duty scam is making the rounds in Milwaukee County.
The sheriff’s office is warning people to beware of callers impersonating their officers and demanding money, or deputies will arrest them.
It recently happened to County Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman.
Wasserman said they knew his name, spoofed a real number from the sheriff’s office, and used an actual sergeant’s name.
“I can tell you there will never be a police officer that calls you and asks you to pay for a warrant or an outstanding ticket with any type of bitcoin or prepaid card from the store. We wouldn’t ask you to do that.”
“The first thing when they said they’re the sheriff’s department, I believed them,” Wasserman said.
He said the caller told him he recently missed jury duty and that they had deputies near his home to arrest him if he didn’t immediately pay a fine.
"I said, ‘I just don’t believe this,’” Wasserman recalled. “He says, ‘Are you taking this like a joke? Because this is no joke. This is really serious. Do you want to go to prison?’”
Wasserman hung up after identifying several red flags. He called the actual sheriff’s office and was told it was a fraud.
“It’s evil,” Wasserman said. “How can you take advantage of people like this?”
Wasserman wanted to do an interview because he fears others are falling for it while in a panic.
“It’s devastating to hear the amount of money that people have given to these scammers,” said Capt. Tricia Carlson with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s thousands and thousands of dollars. I’m aware of up to ten thousand.”
Carlson said they’ve received about 50 complaints. She noted the scammers often target the elderly or people who work in the medical field. Wasserman is a doctor.
“Has the sheriff’s office ever made an arrest connected to this scam?” Lighthouse reporter Ben Jordan asked.
“We have not,” Carlson replied. “We have to get the federal government involved in it, and so tracking that money is really difficult.”
According to Carlson, that’s because the scammers force victims to stay on the phone while they’re sent to buy prepaid cards or pay via cryptocurrency. She said the money is often transferred to multiple bank accounts in and out of the country, making it nearly impossible to recover.
Back at Wasserman’s, he called the scammer back so TMJ4 could hear their tactics firsthand. The person on the other end of the line told Wasserman he still needed to pay a "security deposit" on a $12,000 fine for contempt of court.
“I have a TV reporter here, and he wants to hear more about this, OK?” Wasserman said.
Wasserman handed TMJ4's Ben Jordan the phone so he could ask some questions.
"We just interviewed the sheriff's office, and they say you're a complete scam,” Jordan said. “Why are you doing this to people?"
Watch: Milwaukee County Supervisor targeted by jury duty scammer
The scammer told Jordan he could send deputies to arrest him and Wasserman.
“What’s your name, sir? I would like to call the sheriff’s office and tell them what’s going on,” Jordan said.
The sheriff’s office said all you have to do is contact them to learn it’s a fake scheme, like Wasserman did.
“After going through this experience, what would you tell others to make sure they don’t fall victim?” Jordan asked.
"No one’s going to arrest you,” Wasserman replied. "Law enforcement doesn’t work like that.”
The sheriff’s office general information line is 414-278-4700.
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