Tuolumne County Residents Falling Victim To Elaborate Money Scam

Sonora, CA — Tuolumne County residents are being contacted by people claiming to be US Marshalls, and the scammers are even showing up at their homes later on in the process.

The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office is warning people to be on high alert.

Two confirmed incidents happened late last month. The first time it was a resident in the Phoenix Lake area and the second time it was someone on Italian Bar Road. One was contacted by email and the other by phone. Both instances were about alleged “unauthorized transactions” and them being investigated for money fraud, trafficking, and drug dealing. The scammers claimed to be US Marshalls who wanted money in lieu of an arrest, or to investigate the case on their behalf. In both cases, they spoke with someone using the name “Austin Sawyer.”

The Sheriff’s Office reports, “One victim reported the scammer asked them to confirm the authenticity of the call by visiting the U.S. Marshals Service website. The victim did this and reported the number the suspect had called on matched the number listed on the US Marshals webpage. This technique is called ‘spoofing,’ when a scammer uses technology to appear to be calling from a legitimate number.”

Both victims were instructed to get a cash payment and place it into an envelope. Men later drove to their homes to physically collect it.

The first incident, in Phoenix Lake, was on October 25 at around 12:45 pm. A couple of men were in a silver Kia Sedan and one of them was described as being “Indian or Arabic” and said his name was “Biveck.”

In the second incident, on Italian Bar Road (on the Columbia side), a single scammer came to collect money both on October 30 and 31 at around 3 pm. The victim said he was 20-30 years old and “Spanish-looking.”

Both of the cases are being actively investigated. Anyone who is the victim of a similar scam, or has information on the suspects, is urged to call the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office at 209-533-5815.

More information from the US Marshall’s Office about imposter scams can be found here.