'Missed Jury Duty' Calls Traced to Georgia Prisons: Two Georgia Women Charged in Florida Sheriff Impersonation Scams

Published Oct. 7, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

The caller says he's with the sheriff's office. You missed jury duty, or there's a warrant out for your arrest, and the only way to avoid jail is to pay right now, often at a Bitcoin ATM. In Volusia County, Florida, investigators say many of those calls aren't coming from deputies at all. They say they're coming from inmates inside Georgia prisons, with help from people on the outside who receive and move the money [1][2].

In the past two weeks the Volusia County Sheriff's Office has extradited two Georgia women in that investigation:

• Vera Faust, 43, of Athens, Georgia, was arrested, extradited to Volusia County and charged with fraud, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, as reported by FOX 35 on Oct. 6, 2026 [1].
• Annie Lee Ashley, 61, was booked in Volusia County on Sept. 25, 2026, on a grand theft charge [3]. Court-record reporting lists her as being from East Dublin, Georgia; CBS News Atlanta described her as an Atlanta woman [2][3].

Important: Neither woman has been convicted. Both are charged, Ashley has entered a written plea of not guilty, and both are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. FOX 35 describes the two cases as separate but "similar" [1]. We found no public statement from Faust or an attorney for her.

The Vera Faust case

According to Sheriff Chitwood, Faust and three others were involved in a scheme in which callers pretended to be members of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and told a DeLand woman she needed to send money to avoid being arrested on a warrant. The woman sent about $15,000. Investigators believe inmates at a Georgia prison were behind the operation and used associates outside the prison to collect or move the money. The sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit recovered nearly all of it [1].

FOX 35 reported that Faust is at least the third person arrested and brought to Florida in connection with the prison-linked scams [1]. The three others the sheriff referred to were not named in the reports we reviewed.

"They just keep on scamming up there in these Georgia prisons, and we're going to keep on bringing them back," Chitwood said [1].

The Annie Ashley case

A Volusia County Sheriff's Office charging affidavit, as described by Wealth of Geeks, says a DeLand woman lost $15,825 after callers posing as law enforcement threatened her with arrest over missed jury duty and directed her to Bitcoin ATMs. She reported it Aug. 7 and gave detectives text messages, a transaction QR code, two Bitcoin ATM receipts and a timestamp from the original call [3].

Detectives traced one deposit, worth about $4,209 when it was made, through multiple wallets to a Cash App account that Cash App identified as Ashley's, according to the affidavit. When contacted, Ashley acknowledged the account was hers but denied receiving the money, said multiple people had access to her phone, and denied knowing anyone incarcerated in Georgia, the affidavit says [3].

A first-appearance judge found probable cause and set bond at $15,000; Ashley was released the same day. On Sept. 26, her attorney waived arraignment, filed a written plea of not guilty and demanded discovery. The clerk's calendar still listed an Oct. 15 arraignment when the case was reviewed Sept. 29 [3]. Chitwood said the rest of the victim's money went to three other people expected to face charges, and that investigators recovered about $12,000 [2].

How investigators say the scam works

• Inside the prison: Chitwood identified Wheeler Correctional Institution and Calhoun State Prison as two facilities connected to the investigation, and said inmates there have access to phones and iPads [2][4]. The Ashley affidavit says inmates use contraband cellphones and spoofed phone numbers [3].
• The threat: Callers pose as officers and claim the target missed jury duty or has a warrant, then demand immediate payment, often through Bitcoin ATMs [2].
• Outside helpers: People outside the prisons receive the deposits and move the money, investigators say [1][3].

"It would be nice if the Georgia Department of Corrections would wake up and put a stop to this," Chitwood wrote [2].

Red flags

• A call saying you missed jury duty or have a warrant, and can pay to make it go away.
• Demands for payment by Bitcoin ATM, gift card, payment app or wire.
• Caller ID showing a real police number. It can be spoofed [5].
• Pressure to stay on the line, act now and tell no one.

"That's not how law enforcement works," Chitwood said. "Use an expletive and hang up." [1]

What to do if you're targeted

1. Hang up. Look up your local sheriff's office or court clerk yourself and call to check.
2. Never pay a "fine" or "bond" over the phone, and never at a crypto ATM.
3. Already paid? Keep receipts, QR codes, wallet addresses and texts. Those records helped detectives trace the money in the Ashley case [3].
4. Report it to local police, the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov [5].

Case status (as of Oct. 7, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 7, 2026	Source
Vera Faust, 43, Athens, GA	Volusia County, Fla.	Charged with fraud; arrested and extradited to Volusia County, reported Oct. 6, 2026; presumed innocent	[1]
Annie Lee Ashley, 61, East Dublin, GA	Volusia County, Fla.	Charged with grand theft; booked Sept. 25, 2026; released on $15,000 surety bond; written plea of not guilty filed Sept. 26; arraignment listed Oct. 15; presumed innocent	[2], [3]

Those charged are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. Chris Lindsay, "Georgia woman arrested in $15K Volusia County sheriff impersonation scam linked to prison inmates," FOX 35 Orlando, Oct. 6, 2026. https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/georgia-woman-arrested-15k-volusia-county-sheriff-impersonation-scam-linked-prison-inmates
2. Dan Raby, "Atlanta woman charged in Florida in bitcoin jury duty scam linked to Georgia inmates, sheriff says," CBS News Atlanta, Sept. 28, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/atlanta-woman-charged-in-florida-in-bitcoin-jury-duty-scam-linked-to-georgia-inmates-sheriff-says/
3. Milos Komnenovic, "Caller Said She'd Be Arrested for Missing Jury Duty. Deputies Traced $4,209 in Bitcoin to a Georgia Woman in a Broader Prison Scam Investigation," Wealth of Geeks, Sept. 29, 2026 (citing Volusia County Sheriff's Office affidavit and Volusia County Clerk records). https://wealthofgeeks.com/caller-said-shed-be-arrested-for-missing-jury-duty-deputies-traced-4209-in-bitcoin-to-a-georgia-woman-in-a-broader-prison-scam-investigation/
4. Sabrina Castro, "Georgia prison scam ring suspect arrested after Florida woman loses $15K in Bitcoin," WSB-TV, Sept. 27, 2026. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/georgia-prison-scam-ring-suspect-arrested-after-florida-woman-loses-15k-bitcoin/MCWBAZC7Q5CJ3EJ4Z7KBL4X4FQ/
5. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, "Scammers Impersonating Law Enforcement and Government Officials in Fraud Schemes," PSA, Sept. 17, 2026. https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2026/PSA260917

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