Florida prisoners used smuggled cellphones to scam seniors, officials say: ‘Despicable’

Prison inmates scamming seniors across Florida

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer shares the concerning scams that are targeting senior citizens as the criminals are committing the crimes behind bars.

TAMPA, Fla. - State and local law enforcement officials say detectives seized dozens of cellphones from Florida prisons, including devices used by inmates to scam seniors statewide.

Operation Triple Threat

The backstory:

At a news conference in Tampa on Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Operation Triple Threat focused on three state prisons with a combined population of about 3,000 inmates.

Pictured: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a news conference in Tampa on June 2, 2025.

Officials said investigators confiscated about 40 phones, adding that some inmates were using technology – including cryptocurrency – while convincing seniors to either purchase services, pay a fine for missing jury duty or to cover toll violations, or enter into relationships.

Uthmeier said the exact number of suspects facing charges is not known yet as formal charges have not been brought against them, but there are at least three known cases of seniors losing money.

READ: 13-year-old girl rescued from Tampa motel: 'This child was lured'

What they're saying:

"These guys are getting more sophisticated," Uthmeier said as he urged everyone to remain cautious when receiving phone calls or text messages from unknown numbers.

Pictured: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a news conference in Tampa on June 2, 2025.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister highlighted one case in which a 92-year-old man lost more than $800,000 over a two-year period.

FOX 13 previously reported on this case, in which Otiz Swinton Jr., 37, was arrested after being accused of posing as a potential lover.

According to detectives, Swinton committed some of his crimes by using a cell phone while he was in prison, where he was serving time for defrauding dozens of seniors from Sun City.

"They use deception, fear, intimidation, whatever it takes to exploit the good nature and big hearts that our seniors have. Seniors, those who have sacrificed their whole life to earn the opportunity at retirement. Our seniors, where every cent counts because they're on a fixed income," Chronister said.

"Despicable, repulsive, abhorrent are just a few words I can use to describe those individuals who target and prey on our seniors," Chronister said.

Pictured: Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister speaks at a news conference in Tampa on June 2, 2025.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey also spoke during Monday's news conference, saying that while technology has created new challenges for law enforcement, detectives are working hard to stay ahead of the curve.

"If you're going to do this type of activity, I highly recommend you do it somewhere other than the state of Florida," Ivey said.

Pictured: Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey speaks at a news conference in Tampa on June 2, 2025.

Ricky Dixon, Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, joined the news conference and discussed how inmates are finding ways to sneak cell phones into state prisons at an increasing rate.

"Several thousand are confiscated a year, so that just gives you an idea of the breadth of this problem," he said. "Their ability to connect with the public and carry on criminal activities to include intimidating witnesses, taking advantage of the elderly extortion and crimes such as that [is problematic]. Again, we're continuing to work with the law enforcement partners, zero tolerance for this within the prisons."

What you can do:

State law enforcement leaders are urging seniors to protect themselves by not giving out their financial information to anyone. They urged older Floridians to contact their local authorities if someone reaches out, asking for money.

"If we can help spread awareness and prevent these crimes from happening, we will save people's hard-earned retirements and pensions," said Whitney Mackay, with the Florida Statewide Prosecutor's Office. "If someone calls you and says that they're your bank and that they need to either get money from you or get information from you in order to move your money, that is a scam."

What's next:

Officials said Monday that they hope to release more specific details soon, including the number of suspects and victims, along with formal criminal charges.

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The Source: This story was written with information from a news conference in Tampa, Florida, on June 2, 2025.

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