A teenager from Georgia has been taken into custody for impersonating law enforcement in Harrison County to scam people out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Harrison County Sheriff Matt Haley confirms that 19-year-old Sharontay Rice has been locked up on two felony counts of false pretense.
The county’s criminal investigation division has been investigating phone scams where an individual posing as a sheriff’s deputy demands payment from a citizen to keep the citizen from being detained.
On Thursday, Harrison County investigators received two reports of these scams where both victims met the suspect at the courthouse in Biloxi. The victims were scammed out of a little more than $28,000. Investigators were able to obtain the necessary information that led to the identification and arrest of Rice.
A search warrant of Rice’s hotel room allowed law enforcement to recover the large sum of money that had been swindled from victims. Rice has since been booked into the Harrison County Adult Detention Center and is being held until her initial appearance in court.
Sheriff Haley reiterates that deputies will never collect money from citizens. Any suspicious phone calls are urged to be reported to the sheriff’s office.
An ongoing investigation into the scam calls is underway.
