MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 A Martin County sheriff\u2019s deputy helped a 93-year-old man recover his life savings after he was scammed out of $600,000 in a gold bar scheme.<\/p>\n
Deputy Jasmaine McKinney, who has been with the Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office for about four years, received a call about the fraud case last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can definitely tell he felt like a victim. You can tell it was just written all over him,\u201d McKinney said.<\/p>\n
McKinney said the 93-year-old was told by scammers that they were with the Federal Trade Commission and that his bank account had been compromised.<\/p>\n
They told him that, to secure his funds, he needed to withdraw the money and purchase $600,000 worth of gold.<\/p>\n
The victim, who declined an interview, contacted a legitimate business to purchase the gold and wrote the company a $600,000 check.<\/p>\n
The plan was to have the gold delivered to his home, where the scammers would pick it up.<\/p>\n
But the victim became suspicious and went to his bank. The bank then contacted the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was all his life savings. Like, that\u2019s what he had,\u201d McKinney said.<\/p>\n
McKinney responded and got the gold company on the phone. She explained that the 93-year-old had been scammed and needed a refund.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get it done, because, again, this guy is out of a lot of money and he\u2019s not a millionaire or anything like that. He\u2019s just a regular guy,\u201d McKinney said.<\/p>\n
A few weeks later, the entire $600,000 was returned to the victim\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
McKinney said she called to make sure the money was actually back in his account.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, no, it\u2019s back in there. I seen it. I say, you know what? I\u2019m happy for you. I just kept saying that. I\u2019m happy for you. I\u2019m happy for you,\u201d McKinney said.<\/p>\n
The victim told her he was happy the sheriff\u2019s office got involved.<\/p>\n
The Martin County Sheriff\u2019s Office says deputies were responding to another call at a local bank when they stopped an elderly man from falling victim to another gold bar scam, saving him $98,000.<\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office is reminding people never to give out personal information over the phone and to call police directly if they believe they may be getting scammed.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
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