“Law enforcement” scams continue, targeting Olmsted residents

By KAALTV

(Credit: MGN)

(ABC 6 News) – Another Olmsted County resident was taken in by scammers pretending to be law enforcement and asking for Bitcoin payments, according to Rochester police.

On May 8, a scammer pretending to be a Captain with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office called a 46-year-old Byron woman and told her she had missed a court date.

The scammer told the woman to pay $9,000 to avoid arrest for “contempt of court,” but lowered the amount to $1,200.

The woman was told to put the money into a Bitcoin machine, then provide her signature at the Olmsted County Government Center. When the woman arrived at the Government Center Wednesday night, she realized she’d been scammed, according to Rochester police.

Police took two men allegedly pretending to be members of law enforcement into custody last week.

Since the arrests of Demonte Brazil, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Gabriel Weatherspoon, of South Bend, Indiana, no one in the area has reported being scammed by individuals who collected money in-person, RPD spokeswoman Amanda Grayson said.

However, the Bitcoin-related scams have continued, Grayson said.

“Remember, no one from the police department or sheriff’s office will contact you to collect money, and no legitimate government organization uses Bitcoin as payment,” Grayson added.