The authority to conduct specified criminal proceedings by audio/video means under the CARES Act in the Middle District of Georgia is extinguished effective April 17, 2023.

 Standing Order 2023-02, In re: CARES Act Termination (4/17/2023)

The U.S. Marshals and the FBI are alerting the public of several nationwide imposter scams involving individuals claiming to be U.S. marshals, court officers, or other law enforcement officials. They are urging people to report the calls their local FBI office (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us), and file a consumer complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, which has the ability to detect patterns of fraud from the information collected and share that data with law enforcement.

During these calls, scammers attempt to collect a fine in lieu of arrest for failing to report for jury duty or other offenses. They then tell victims they can avoid arrest by purchasing a prepaid debit card such as a Green Dot card or gift card and read the card number over the phone to satisfy the fine.

Scammers use many tactics to sound credible. They sometimes provide information like badge numbers, names of actual law enforcement officials and federal judges, and courthouse addresses. They may also spoof their phone numbers to appear on caller ID as if they are calling from the court or a government agency.

Things to remember:

• U.S. Marshals will never ask for credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers for any purpose.
• Don’t divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.
• Report scam phone calls to your local FBI office and to the FTC.
• You can remain anonymous when you report.
• Authenticate the call by calling the clerk of the court’s office of the U.S. District Court in your area and verify the court order given by the caller.

If you believe you were a victim of such a scam, you are encouraged to report the incident to your local FBI office and to the FTC.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

A new jury scam is targeting citizens within Middle Georgia.  Emails are being sent advising citizens that they failed to appear for jury duty, and directing them to contact the “Judicial Division of the U.S. Marshals Office.”  The subject line of the emails is “F.T.A. Notification” and the sender’s email address replicates the name of a clerk and uses “US.District.Courts@clerk.com.”

Most contact between a federal court and prospective juror will be through U.S. mail, and any phone or email contact by court staff will not include requests for sensitive information such as social security numbers or credit card information.   Emails from the court are sent from an email address that contains a “.gov” extension, and not “.com”. 

If anyone suspects they have been targeted by this scam or is contacted by someone requesting payments related to jury duty, please do not make the payment.  Instead, immediately report the incident to your local law enforcement agency.  You may also contact the U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office at (478) 752-3497 for verification of any suspicious communications related to jury service.

  Please see the attached press release