SALT LAKE CITY — So-called "warrant scams" have become commonplace in today's society.
Unsuspecting victims will receive a phone call from someone claiming to be with a local law enforcement agency and inform the victim that a warrant has been issued for their arrest, typically for issues such as missing jury duty.
The caller informs the victim that jail time can be avoided if a payment is made immediately, typically by phone or through an app. The perpetrators then disappear with the victim's money and are hard to catch.
But on Friday, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office requested an arrest warrant for one suspected scammer.
Andre Marquise Hofman, 30, of Oakdale, Louisiana, was charged in 3rd District Court with theft by deception and communications fraud, third-degree felonies, and impersonating an officer, a class B misdemeanor.
In April, a man went to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office looking for a certain captain. However, that captain "did not exist," according to charging documents.
Investigators then learned that the man had been contacted by someone on the phone who claimed to be with the sheriff's office. The victim was told he missed jury duty and needed to send the deputy $2,900 through Apple Pay and then go to the sheriff's office and ask for the captain, the charges state. When the man arrived at the sheriff's office, he learned that he had been scammed.
After serving search warrants on the phone number used by the caller and the Apple account, the payments were linked to Hofmann, the charges state.
Prosecutors have now requested a warrant for Hofmann's arrest.
