Perry Police Say Elderly Woman Lost $70,000 in Government Impersonation Scam; Two Macon Suspects Identified
PERRY, Ga. – An elderly Perry woman lost an estimated $70,000 after scammers posing as federal, court and law enforcement officials threatened her with arrest and directed her to withdraw money and make payments, according to the Perry Police Department.
The investigation began Sept. 21 after Perry police, with assistance from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, received a missing-person report involving the woman.
Investigators determined she was in the middle of an active scam in which people impersonating government officials kept her in continuous telephone contact and instructed her not to tell others what was happening.
According to police, the scammers threatened the woman with arrest and directed her to withdraw cash, purchase cryptocurrency, use retail-payment barcodes and deliver money to other people.
Officers used the Flock Safety license plate camera system to locate the woman’s vehicle and reached her before the scammers could obtain additional money, police said.
Financial records reviewed by investigators showed the woman withdrew approximately $63,000 during the scheme. She reported losing about $70,000 in total. Police said investigators recovered a portion of the stolen money but did not disclose the amount.
Investigators identified two Macon residents as being involved in the scheme.
James L. Card, 26, is accused of theft by extortion, exploitation of an elderly person and impersonating an officer. Tykeria L. Washington, 31, is accused of elderly exploitation.
Police did not provide details about each suspect’s alleged role in the scheme or information about arrests or bond status.
The investigation remains active as detectives work to identify additional participants, phone numbers, financial accounts and people who received payments.
Perry police warned that legitimate courts and government agencies do not demand payments through Bitcoin kiosks, retail-payment barcodes, Apple Cash, gift cards or cash couriers. Authorities also said government agencies will not tell people to hide payments from relatives or local law enforcement.
Anyone receiving such a demand should stop communicating with the sender, avoid transferring money or providing identification documents and contact law enforcement.
Anyone with information about the Perry investigation can contact Detective Talley at 478-988-2800.
