In 2023, after only three years as a police officer, Anthony Pendell rather audaciously put his name in for a detective vacancy with the Exeter Township Police Department.<\/p>\n
The timing worked in his favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got hired, it was a very top-heavy department,\u201d Pendell, 33, said in a recent interview. \u201cA lot of guys were close to retirement after a pretty long hiring hiatus. So when they started leaving, there were opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendell joined the Exeter Township Police Department in January 2020 and spent three years on patrol. While he enjoyed the work, his long-term goal was investigations \u2014 a path inspired by his father.<\/p>\n
John Pendell spent much of his career as a narcotics agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office and later worked in a narcotics intelligence role with the Montgomery County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured I had nothing to lose by going for it,\u201d Pendell said.<\/p>\n
His initiative paid off. In April 2023, he was promoted to detective \u2014 far earlier than he expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was definitely thrilled, especially that early in my career,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew that\u2019s what I wanted to do eventually, but it happened sooner than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendell quickly established himself in the unit, working complex investigations that eventually led to an invitation to join the U.S. Secret Service Cyber Task Force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a cyber fraud case I was working on with a Secret Service agent out of the Philadelphia field office,\u201d Pendell said. \u201cWe built a relationship, and he told me about the task force. That\u2019s how I got on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joining the task force opened the door to specialized training and advanced investigative tools. Through the Secret Service, Pendell attended courses at the National Computer Forensics Institute in Hoover, Ala.<\/p>\n
The 40,000-square-foot NCFI facility is the nation\u2019s premier law enforcement training center for cyber and electronic crime forensics, serving officers, prosecutors and judges from across the country. Courses cover topics such as open-source intelligence, cyber investigative techniques, cryptocurrency and call data records analysis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all in the cyber realm \u2014 working on cellphones, computers, downloading digital data and evidence,\u201d he said. \u201cThe two classes I went to were call data records and cryptocurrency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Call data record analysis examines metadata generated by telecommunications networks \u2014 such as timestamps, phone numbers and cell tower locations \u2014 to identify patterns useful in criminal investigations, including fraud cases.<\/p>\n
Pendell returned to Exeter Township with new skills and specialized software that allows him to analyze cellular communications data from his office.<\/p>\n
His work did not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n
In December, the Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force presented Pendell with a National Computer Forensics Institute award recognizing excellence in cyber and fraud investigations. The national honor placed him 22nd out of more than 250,000 investigators nationwide based on the volume and complexity of forensic evidence he analyzed over the past year.<\/p>\n
He is only the second detective in the Philadelphia Secret Service region to receive the recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my case, it was a culmination of call data record work and cryptocurrency cases over the past year,\u201d Pendell said. \u201cThe award is based on volume of evidence examined, and that\u2019s what put me at 22 in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recognition came as a surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only been a police officer since 2020,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are guys who have been doing this type of work for years and years.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Exeter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/REG-L-AnthonyPendell-01.jpg\")
Exeter Township Detective Anthony Pendell receives a National Computer Forensic Institute certificate in Hoover, Ala., on Dec. 4. The award presented by the U. S. Secret Service Cyber Task Force recognizes the most prolific investigators in the nation for complex cyber and fraud cases over the previous year. (COURTESY OF EXETER TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT)<\/p>\n
Pendell said the award carried special meaning because of his family background.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a law enforcement family,\u201d he said. \u201cMy dad had a career in law enforcement, and I\u2019m kind of following in his footsteps. Seeing how proud he is of the work I\u2019m doing means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendell grew up in the Pottstown area and graduated from Pottsgrove High School in 2011. While law enforcement was always at the back of his mind, another passion initially led him elsewhere: music.<\/p>\n
After attending community college, Pendell moved to Nashville in 2014 to pursue a music career. He enrolled at Belmont University near Music Row and landed a job as a touring drummer for country artist Ben Gallaher, a fellow Pennsylvania native.<\/p>\n
He left Belmont after one semester, finding it difficult to balance school and touring. For the next 4 1\/2 years, Pendell worked as a professional drummer, primarily with Gallaher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe toured all over the country,\u201d Pendell said. \u201cWe opened for a lot of country artists that are on the radio today, from Morgan Wallen to Tyler Farr.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the highlights came when Gallaher\u2019s band landed a support role on a farewell tour with legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe played quite a few shows with Skynyrd,\u201d Pendell said. \u201cIt was wild. They were all good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
One moment, in particular, stood out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost artists generally roll up right before the show and then leave right after,\u201d Pendell explained. \u201cBut I remember playing the show, and I look to my right and I see the Skynyrd guys standing there, side stage, watching the set. So that was pretty definitely a cool moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Pendell approached his late 20s, he began thinking about long-term stability. The turning point came at his father\u2019s retirement party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was surrounded by police officers, talking to them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was always something in the back of my mind \u2014 following in my dad\u2019s footsteps. I\u2019d had my fun, played music, done that chapter of my life. I thought, \u2018You know what, I\u2019m going to make a career change.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Pendell moved back home, put himself through the police academy, and joined the Exeter Township Police Department.<\/p>\n
Although his path from Nashville stages to the squad room may be unconventional, Pendell sees a connection. Law enforcement, he said, as with music, is a team game \u2014 one that requires support from others to succeed.<\/p>\n
While on patrol, Pendell gravitated toward investigative work, often handling as much follow-up as possible on his own cases and seeking out additional training whenever it was approved.<\/p>\n
After becoming a detective, his willingness to take on challenging cases led him into an emerging specialty: cryptocurrency investigations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got into detectives, it was never like, \u2018I want to do cryptocurrency cases,\u2019\u201d Pendell said. \u201cIt just kind of fell in my lap. There were not many people in the county that were handling them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He took one of Exeter Township\u2019s first cryptocurrency-related investigations and taught himself the field to a large extent.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was like, \u2018Well, I\u2019ve got to figure this out,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cSo that\u2019s what kind of led me down that road of doing those types of investigations and then I grew an interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the fraud cases he\u2019s investigated are investment scams in which the perpetrator lures the victim into investing money. Scammers gradually gain trust through friendly or romantic conversations, often initiated through text messages, dating apps or social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re called pig butchering scams,\u201d Pendell explained, \u201cwhere they\u2019ll target a select group of people \u2014 a lot of the times it\u2019s white elderly males \u2014 and the suspect will pose as an attractive young female, and they\u2019ll try to build a relationship, and this will go on for months at a time.\u201c<\/p>\n
The name of this type of investment scam refers to the idea of fattening the pig before slaughter.<\/p>\n
Once trust is established, the scammer introduces a supposedly lucrative crypto investment. They often set up legitimate exchange accounts to convert cash into cryptocurrency. The victim is then directed to transfer the funds to a fraudulent trading platform or digital wallet that promises high, quick returns.<\/p>\n
Other than troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police computer crimes unit, he and a member of the Spring Township Police Department are the only municipal detectives currently handling crypto investigations, Pendell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou open one door and realize how big that world is,\u201d he said \u201cThen you just keep learning more, going to different schools, figuring things out. It\u2019s been a neat experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
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