An 81-year-old Fruit Cove woman came within moments of handing over $18,000 in cash to a doorstep courier after callers convinced her that a bank error had dropped $20,000 into her account instead of $2,000. Her husband sensed something was off and, with a neighbor’s quick assist, cut the handoff short at the front door. St. Johns County deputies later arrested 68-year-old James Lawrence White of Jacksonville and recovered $1,100 in $100 bills from his wallet.
Attempted courier pickup stopped at doorstep
According to an arrest report detailed by the St. Johns Citizen, the woman first got a text about a supposed fraudulent credit-card charge. During the ensuing call, she allowed the caller remote access to her electronic devices. The caller then claimed that $20,000 had been deposited into her account instead of $2,000 and instructed her to withdraw the $18,000 “difference” and hand it to a courier who would come to the house.
The husband flagged down a neighbor outside, borrowed a cellphone and called 911 just as a man in a red shirt walked toward the home and another man drove away in a white Chevrolet Silverado, the report states. Deputies soon found White walking in the area. He initially offered conflicting stories, including that an Uber had dropped him at the wrong address, before telling investigators he had been recruited by someone he knew only as “the Source” to pick up packages for about $1,000 a trip, according to the St. Johns Citizen.
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