Bay County Sheriff's Investigators Have Person of Interest in TDC Scam

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Bay County Sheriff's investigators say they have a person of interest in the Bay County Tourist Development Council scam.

TDC lost $250,000 in March. The money has since been recovered.

As a result, the TDC has modified certain spending procedures. Earlier this year, the Bay County Tourism Development Council agreed to a joint artificial reef project with the Okaloosa and Walton TDCs.

Bay County's share of the cost was $250,000, and officials were awaiting an invoice for that amount. So when they received an email from what appeared to be the Okaloosa TDC, they weren't surprised.

It turned out to be a fake invoice with fake email addresses that looked like the real one.

“In this case, to see where a slight change in email address occurs and where different wiring instructions are provided or different payment instructions are provided and those payment instructions are followed. And then the money disappears. It’s just that it’s as soon as it hits the account,” said Lt. Jeremy Mathis, criminal investigator.

Bay County sheriff's investigators said Bay TDC officials contacted them sometime after the transaction. Investigators began working with the banks involved to track down the fraudsters.

Fortunately, one of the banks noticed something suspicious about the wire transfer and froze the account.

“So instead of providing immediate access to the funds, they actually held the funds long enough for us to let them know that this was indeed a fraudulent transaction,” Mathis said.

All the TDC money has been recovered. Investigators said they have a person of interest in custody who they believe was responsible for the scam.

“Any prior involvement in similar proceedings or similar cases in other areas. And if that's the case, we'll hopefully have an interview with the account owner and determine what their reasoning is or what their involvement is. Mathis said these types of scams can happen to anyone. “There’s a scam for everything. Fraud occurs in all aspects of financial transactions.

Before sending any type of funds, Mathis recommends triple- or even quadruple-checking email addresses and where the money is going.

“Don't take the email at face value, as these are scams we see all the time, and it could just be a hyphen added to the email, something something most people wouldn't notice. If you plan to use the email as is, check the email address and where it came from, and if it contains a hyphen that is not in your email precedent, it is most likely a fraud,” Mathis added.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office has a financial crimes unit. If you think you are a victim of fraud, contact them immediately.