Plantation Man Accused Of Scamming $300,000 From Elderly Residents

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The Broward Sheriff's Office announced Friday the arrest of a Plantation resident accused of scamming the elderly out of $300,000.

BSO is warning county residents to beware of sweepstakes scams that promise winners a grand prize payoff if they first pay taxes on their winnings in order to claim the main prize.

BSO detectives say that they conducted an investigation regarding a Publisher's Clearing House scam on October 2020 involving an elderly victim who was defrauded out of approximately $63,000.

During the investigation, at least 17 additional elderly victims were identified.
BSO said the combined amount of funds scammed from elderly victims is estimated to be approximately $300,000.

The preliminary investigation led detectives Donte Johnson, 25, a Plantation resident.

Police said that Johnson was arrested following a search warrant of his residence.

Authorities say they confiscated more than $17,000 in cash, ammunition, four firearms, one stolen firearm out of Georgia as well as paperwork and electronic devices related to the ongoing fraud investigation.

Johnson is facing charges of criminal use of personal information, bank fraud and grand theft of a firearm.

Anyone who believes they were a victim of this scam is asked to call BSO's Organized Crime Unit detectives at 954-888-1581.