Anthony Yates
Authorities have arrested a woman from Atlanta for her part in an alleged Bitcoin scam. The hustle was reportedly run by a prison gang.
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According to a news release by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested 47-year-old Lakesha Heard this week. Investigators suspect her of scamming a local resident out of thousands of dollars.
Authorities explained that a person contacted the resident and claimed to be a VSO Officer. They told her she missed jury duty, and they had a warrant for her arrest.
The individual reportedly ordered the panicked resident to deposit $9,300 into a Bitcoin ATM, which they did. However, detectives traced the payment to Heard’s account and secured a warrant for her arrest.
The Bitcoin Scammer Faces Multiple Charges
The Sheriff’s office reveals that authorities charged Heard with “grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.” Authorities also explain that the suspect is linked to a fraud ring that is run by a gang in Georgia State Prison. “She is not the first to be arrested and probably won’t be the last,” the news release warns.
Multiple other schemes have made headlines recently, including a fortuneteller in New York who reportedly scammed a 68-year-old woman out of thousands of dollars. The Nassau County Police Department released a statement about the incident and subsequent arrest last month. Authorities say the woman paid Hemanth Kumar Muneppa $20,000 USC for fortune-telling services on July 3.
He then reportedly asked for a further $42,000 USC for his services and even drove the woman to a bank on Broadway to make the withdrawal. “The victim was advised she may be being scammed, and police were called for assistance,” the release explains. Officers arrived and arrested Muneppa without incident.
Authorities charged the fortuneteller with Grand Larceny 3rd Degree, Attempted Grand Larceny 3rd Degree. He also faced charges for two counts of fortune-telling. The latter isn’t a crime in every state, but it is in New York.
Also in July, a Hillsborough woman claimed scammers used an AI clone of her daughter’s voice to say she was involved in a car crash. They made her believe her daughter hit a pregnant woman while she was texting behind the wheel.
A man claiming to be her attorney reportedly took over the conversation and demanded fees of $15,000 along with specific instructions. Ultimately, the woman’s grandson got involved and quickly proved to her she was being scammed. They set up a GoFundMe to recover some of the cost.
