Sheriff’s dept. phone rings off the hook after scam in Jessamine Co.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ)- Callers posing as sheriff’s deputies are offering an ultimatum in Jessamine County: thousands of dollars in cash or jail time for missing jury duty.

There’s one problem, according to the department. It wouldn’t call you for that.

Many folks across Jessamine County started getting the calls Friday, according to Chief Deputy Allen Peel. Peel says he started warning the public then, but Monday, calls picked back up.

“We don’t call people if they have a warrant on them. That gives somebody the chance to run so I want to assure the public that if you get a call from the sheriff’s department and you have a warrant, that’s not us.”

Martha Huddleston agrees with that. In fact, it’s that notion which tipped her off after the caller tried to get thousands of dollars from her, Monday.

“Bring three-thousand dollars to pay on your bond and I’ll take care of it. I said, ‘I don’t have that kind of money,'” she says. Huddleston says the call upset her.

Even while ABC 36 cameras were inside the sheriff’s department, it took a call from an elderly person, asking if they were going to be arrested.

If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you’re urged to call the sheriff’s department at (859) 885-4139.