John Coffelt, Editor

Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and Circuit Court Clerk’s office are getting the word out that area residents have recently been hit by scammers with jury duty cons.

Circuit Court Clerk Jenny Anthony said jury scams have been a huge issue, with residents losing hefty sums of money.

Anthony said that her office does not make official contact regarding jury duty via phone or text messages, and that her office will never threaten anyone to pay fines or go to jail.

“A lot of these victims are just terrified that they are going to be taken to jail,” Anthony said.

Scammers are very convincing. They use official sounding, intimidating language and will use convincing names and titles. But there are often some serious red flags in the con.

Coffee County Sheriff Investigator Jonathan Anthony warns people to be suspicious of anyone asking for money transfers via bitcoin, western union or gift cards.

“Never are you going to go to a bitcoin machine and put money in to pay the judicial system or the sheriff’s department. Never are you going to go to Walmart to get money orders to pay any kind of fine,” he said.

Additionally, the amount of money requested is another red flag. While the maximum fine for skipping jury duty under egregious is $500, several local residents have been taken for thousands of dollars.

“If you miss jury, the notice would come in a civil-type matter, you would be served with that by a deputy in person. The courts will never ask for money from a text message or a phone call,” Anthony said.

Investigator Anthony cautioned that there are a wide variety of scams that his department investigates through a network of officers across the nation. Prevention is the only effective way to protect the public.

He said that if a proposed contact seems too good to be true it usually is. Those receiving any contact asking for or demanding money can contact the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, local police, and the Circuit Court Clerk’s office to confirm the contact’s validly.

Call 931-728-5110 for the Circuit Court Clerk regarding jury duty, or 931-728-3591 for the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.             

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.