Georgia man extradited to Bergen County over $15,400 Bitcoin jury duty scam
The caller aggressively claimed that a formal bench warrant had been issued for the resident's arrest due to missing jury duty
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An out-of-state suspect has been arrested and extradited to New Jersey after allegedly participating in a sophisticated "jury duty scam" that defrauded a Bergen County resident out of more than $15,000.
The Bergen County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest following a nearly two-year investigation into the predatory financial scheme.
The case began in July 2024, when a local resident reported receiving a fraudulent phone call from an individual impersonating a Bergen County Sheriff's officer.
The caller aggressively claimed that a formal bench warrant had been issued for the resident's arrest due to missing jury duty. Fearing legal action, the victim complied with the caller's instructions to deposit $15,400 into a localized Bitcoin ATM to clear the fictitious warrant.
Following an extensive probe by the Bergen County Sheriff's Office Investigations Unit, authorities successfully tracked the digital and financial footprints to 25-year-old Maceo M. Duncan of Valdosta, Georgia. Members of the agency's Warrant Squad traveled to Georgia and officially extradited Duncan back to New Jersey to face prosecution.
Duncan has been booked into custody and faces a litany of serious charges, including theft by extortion, theft by deception, impersonating a law enforcement officer, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Following the extradition, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office issued a stark warning to the public regarding the persistence of telephone-based financial scams.
Officials strongly reminded residents that legitimate law enforcement and government agencies will never call citizens to demand immediate payments, threaten arrest over the phone, or request financial transactions via cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ATMs, or gift cards.
