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Pasco woman loses $2,000 in emerging jury duty phone scam: 'Like a hostage situation'

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Published  September 15, 2025 11:13pm EDT
Pasco County
FOX 13 News
Woman warns of jury duty scam

Woman warns of jury duty scam

The Pasco Sheriff?s Office is warning residents about a phone scam that has already claimed several victims in the county. Jennifer Kveglis reports.

The Brief

    • Pasco County deputies are warning about a scam where callers pose as law enforcement and demand money for missing jury duty.
    • One Land O’ Lakes woman said she lost $2,000 after scammers threatened her with an arrest.
    • The sheriff’s office said courts will never demand payments by phone or wire transfer.

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - The Pasco Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam that has already claimed several victims in the county.

Land O’ Lakes resident Jana Cash said she lost $2,000 on Friday after receiving a call from someone claiming to be with PSO. The caller told her there was a warrant out for her arrest, because she missed jury duty.

READ: Paddlefish at Disney Springs robbed by goggles-wearing, masked man: Deputies

What we know:

Cash said the scammers knew her personal information, including her home address, social security number, and driver’s license number. They instructed her to withdraw money and send it using a cryptocurrency machine to avoid arrest.

Cash said the scammers kept her on the phone for more than three hours, ordering her not to tell anyone what was happening. At first, she only had $1,000 available. She said she had to loop her husband into the call and convince him to send an additional $1,500, then used $2,000 of it to pay the scammers.

Pictured: Jana Cash with her family. 

She said the experience was "like a hostage situation," and said it left her and her family traumatized.

MORE: Edgewater Police Officer shot, killed by clerk at Circle K gas station in Ormond-by-the-Sea: Deputies

After contacting 911, she was told at least seven other people in Pasco County had reported the same scam that day.

What you can do:

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office says:

  • Courts and law enforcement will never demand payment over the phone or by wire transfer.
  • You will not be arrested immediately for missing jury duty.

If you receive a similar call, officials said you should hang up, verify your jury duty status with your local courts and report the scam to law enforcement. To see active, outstanding Pasco County warrants, click here. 

The Source: This reporting by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis includes an interview with scam victim Jana Cash and statements from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.

Pasco CountyCrime and Public Safety