Two Georgia inmates convicted in nationwide phone scam targeting jury duty victims
Federal court finds men guilty of wire fraud, money laundering in scheme that netted nearly $465,000
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - According to the Department of Justice, two South Georgia inmates involved in a nationwide cell phone scheme were found guilty in federal court on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
Joey Amour Jackson aka “Apes” along with Lance Riddle aka “C-Port,” both of Calhoun State Prison were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The trial began on Jan. 5 before Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands in Albany.
The defendants both face a maximum of 30 years in prison for wire fraud and a maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering, to be followed by three years of supervised release along with a $250,000 fine per count.
According to court documents, the scam victims were told by the two defendants that they had warrants for their arrest due to missing jury duty. The defendants were posing as law enforcement, attempting to accept payments from citizens. The victims were told that they were under “gag” orders and could not speak about their warrants until their bond was paid, or they would be arrested.
The victims were always instructed to purchase gift cards and to read the numbers off of the back of the cards to the defendants.
Once the bond was paid, the victims were told to go to their local police department to verify their signature on the bond.
Officials say that the scheme resulted in more than $464,920 in documented losses from over 100 victims nationwide.
“Not even prison cells prevented these criminals from harming dozens of innocent people. Hopefully, this verdict will bring some level of comfort to the victims and prevent others from falling for similar scams, the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners in not only addressing these types of inmate-based crimes but also in preventing inmates access to contraband cell phones that provide the means to do so much harm to the unsuspecting public,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown.
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