Phone Scammer Posing as TCSO Lieutenant Arrested After Long Investigation

A Georgia man is in the Tuscaloosa County Jail facing a slew of felony charges in connection to a scam calling scheme which happens often but rarely leads to an arrest.

If you follow law enforcement agencies on social media, you've probably seen warnings about phone scammers who pretend to be police officers. These con artists call their victims and demand money to avoid arrest or other legal consequences - but the caller is not a real officer, and the threats are made-up. 

The problem is so prevalent that both the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and the Tuscaloosa Police Department have issued fresh warnings about these calls in the last month.

To make matters worse, these callers often do enough research to call themselves by the name of a real local investigator and have, in some cases, already learned enough about their target to call them by name and reference other personal details, like their home address.

Get our free mobile app

Last week, though, the County Sheriff's Office was able to arrest a Georgia man they accuse of being one of these scammers, and the suspect is facing a long list of felony charges for impersonating a sheriff's lieutenant.

According to court documents filed Monday, this case began six months ago when a victim contacted the sheriff's office to report he'd been scammed out of $1,500.

A caller who police allege was actually 31-year-old Christopher Mathews pretended to be calling from TCSO and told the victim he had not appeared for jury duty and owed $1,500 that had to be paid immediately, or else arrest warrants would be issued.

The victim told police that, according to the caller's instructions, he had bought $1,500 in MoneyPak cards and provided the card numbers to the man on the other end of the phone. He soon realized he'd been scammed.

TCSO Sgt. Josh Hastings launched a serious investigation to track down Mathews, and starting with just a voicemail and a fake phone number, the Criminal Investigation Division was able not only to identify and locate their suspect but also to obtain a list of other would-be victims he allegedly called from the same line.

This Spring, after IDing Mathews and linking him to an address in Baconton, Georgia CID investigators found he had already been arrested in the Peach State on similar charges and was already incarcerated there as their investigation unfolded.

It was not until last week that they were able to finally book the alleged scammer here in Tuscaloosa and formally charge him with nine counts of impersonating a police officer, one count of identity theft and one count of second-degree theft of property.

The nine impersonation charges - each a Class C felony - stem from different victims Mathews reportedly called pretending to be a TCSO investigator.

Hastings said he sees the arrest as a victory for those Mathews is accused of trying to scam, but he hopes it also serves as a message to anyone who would prey on the gullible that the tools now exist to track them down and file charges, even when they're taking steps to hide their true identity.

Remember - no legitimate law enforcement agency in the Tuscaloosa area will ever call asking for money to "clear up" a warrant. Someone calling themselves police and asking for payment should be a sign to hang up the phone. You could then use a verified, non-emergency line for the law enforcement agency in question to make sure all is well or report the scam.

These scams also rely on unusual payment methods including these MoneyPak cards - never buy one of these and share the info on the card with someone else - they will drain the funds and leave you empty-handed.

For more coverage of news around West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.