Jury duty scam: Lake County Sheriff issues warning

You can add another scam to the list of deceptive plots that con artists are using to swindle money from area residents.

This time, it’s a phone call telling a resident that a warrant has been issued for their arrest for missing jury duty, along with a recommendation to pay money to stay out of jail for their transgression.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it has been contacted by many residents over the past three days, claiming they received a phone call from Capt. Leonbruno at the sheriff’s office. Perhaps the scammers in this plot have done their homework to try to sound authentic, as there is a Leonbruno at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office: Chief Deputy Frank Leonbruno.

On Thursday, Chief Deputy Leonbruno released a video statement to explain the scam being perpetrated by the imposter using his name. He also advised residents of how they should respond to such calls.

Leonbruno said the scammer identifies himself as either Capt. Leonbruno, Sgt. Leonbruno or Sheriff No. 3. The scammer tells the resident that the Sheriff’s Office has a warrant for their arrest for missing jury duty.

The resident is then given a telephone number — 440-226-9283 — to call for more details on their plight.

“When they call the number, they’re told they have a warrant for their arrest and that they will be incarcerated unless they pay a bond over the phone that will keep them out of jail until they can go to court and get the matter resolved,” Leonbruno said.

However, the chief deputy said the information given during those phone calls is not true.

“We will not call you and tell you that you have a warrant for your arrest for missing jury duty,” he said. “The Sheriff’s Office will not call you, nor will a police department call you.”

Leonbruno said it’s imperative that residents ignore these calls. He added that when someone falls for this scheme, it’s very difficult to investigate and recover the money.

“Once you make the payment, the money is quickly gone over the internet and very hard to track,” he said.

Leonbruno said the cellphones used in these scams are “burner phones” — pre-paid cellphones not attached to any one individual that are often thrown away after being used for a limited time.

“These are scams being done by people in and outside the community to try to finagle and get money out of individuals,” he said. “We want to get this warning out to all the individuals in our community in case you receive this call.”

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