Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Warns of Jury Duty Scam

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a jury duty phone scam.

A man claiming to be a law enforcement officer with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is calling people and telling them there’s a warrant out for their arrest for missing jury duty.

The caller then requests payment to take care of the warrant.

Sheriff Margaret Mims said this is a scam.

Thursday, Holly Carter of Fresno said a man called her cell phone and asked for her by name.

"He was calling about a bench warrant that was out for my arrest because failure to appear," Carter said. 

She said the man claiming to be from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office told her she’d be arrested if she didn’t pay a fine of $ 971.46 because she didn’t show up for jury duty, although she didn’t receive a juror summons.

"He says but I can pay this fine and they hold the money until I show up at court," Carter said. 

Sheriff Mims said her department does not call jurors, and certainly doesn’t threaten jurors as this caller was doing.

"I just caution the public–don’t be frightened. Report it when it happens to you. Don’t give in because it is in fact a scam," Mims said. 

Carter said the scammer was aggressive, persuasive, and very detailed.

"He was very believable, so I took him seriously. And the phone call was over 30 minutes long," Carter said.

She said the man called from a cell phone, and her instinct told her something was off.

During the call, she took to social media to warn others, and she contacted the sheriff’s office.

"He said, ‘Well ma’am, I just need a Visa or a credit card and we’ll put a hold on those funds, and then when you come to court, they’ll be released,’" Carter said. 

The man told her she could only pay over the phone, and if she showed up to pay at the sheriff’s office, she’d be arrested, Carter said.

As she confronted him about the scam, he dropped the act and cursed at her.

According to the Fresno County Superior Court, the Juror Services Division does not call jurors to obtain personal information or to request payment.

If someone misses a jury duty date, a representative of the court, not the sheriff’s office, will contact jurors by mail, not by phone.

If the juror doesn’t respond, then a deputy may serve the juror in person with a legal document, but this will not be done over the phone.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office asks those who’ve received this kind of call to record the caller’s number and report it to law enforcement.

Anyone with questions can contact the Juror Services Division at (559) 457-1600.