A suspect is wanted for questioning after $18,000 was stolen from an elderly Columbia County man by using his bank card.
The 83-year-old Evans man had his Bank of America debit card stolen during a routine ATM transaction May 30 at the bank at 620 Ronald Reagan Drive. The victim had visited the ATM to withdraw cash and was distracted by a stranger who told the victim he had dropped money. Momentarily diverting his attention, the victim retrieved the alleged dropped cash, completed his transaction, and departed.
It wasn’t until the following day that the elderly man realized something was wrong when he noticed thousands in transactions on his bank statement, including two charges for $5,000 and two charges for $4,000 at branches on Peach Orchard Road and Walton Way, both in Augusta.
After contacting Bank of America, he discovered that his debit card had been swapped with the fraudulent card used to withdraw significant sums from multiple branches in Richmond County.
Law enforcement officials, including Investigator Jon Hixon of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, are actively investigating the case. They have released a photo of a person of interest wanted for questioning in connection with the financial transaction card fraud.
Anyone with information regarding the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is urged to contact Inv. Hixon at (706) 821-1468 or the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office anonymously at (706)821-1020 or (706) 821-1080.
