Tennessee man arrested for trying to scam Izard County woman out of nearly $20,000

A Tennessee man has been arrested for trying to scam an Izard County woman out of nearly $20,000. Thirty-year-old Darren James Burton of Clarksville, Tennessee was arrested in Searcy on Saturday on four felony charges.According to the probable cause affidavit from the Izard County Sheriff’s Office, the victim first reported the scam Nov. 19 when she received a text saying $19,400 had been taken from her bank account. Shortly after receiving the text, the victim started getting phone calls from the scammer saying she had been hacked and he wanted to help her retrieve her money.
The man instructed the woman to put $19,400 in a box, write “Merry Christmas” on it and he would send a courier to pick it up. Once collected, he would duplicate the money and deposit back into the victim’s account. The suspect on several occasions urged the victim not to tell anyone about their conversation and said if she did, she and her family would be in danger. The scammer called when the driver was about due to pick the box up and said the driver had an accident and would not be able to get the box that day.

The following day, investigators with the sheriff’s office and the 16th Judicial Drug Task Force started surveillance on the victim’s home and were able to witness several phone calls with at least two different suspects. The callers claimed to have apprehended five of the seven “hackers” and were trying to catch the other two. They told the victim not to tell anyone of their conversations or about the hackers. The calls continued several days and revealed to investigators the suspects were either having trouble finding the victim’s address or the “money mules” were not available to travel to the area.

Finally on Saturday, the scammer called to say the box would be picked up that day. Law enforcement had a deputy inside the house and staged several vehicles nearby. When the vehicle arrived, it was a Lyft driver that was hired by Burton. The driver informed law enforcement, he was to pick the box up and take it to a hotel in Searcy.

While speaking to deputies, Burton called the Lyft driver to verify he had the box. He asked if he had opened it and the driver said no. Burton told him to open the box and take $5,000 from the cash that was inside. The driver told Burton he was not interested in breaking the law and only completing his duties as a driver. Burton then offered to Zelle or Cash App the driver to compensate him.

The driver, along with Izard County deputies, delivered the box to the designated hotel in Searcy and left it.

The Searcy Police Department was notified the next morning that Burton showed up to collect the box. When they arrived to apprehend Burton, he fled on foot, but was taken into custody after a lengthy pursuit.

During questioning on Monday, Burton told investigators he believed there was $30,000 in the box. He denied being a money mule, saying he operates a legitimate business that moves packages containing cash.

Burton, who has also lived in Alabama, Arizona and Florida, is charged with criminal attempt to commit theft by deception; criminal attempt, abuse of an endangered or impaired person; unauthorized use of another person’s property to facilitate certain crimes; and use of a communication device during a felony crime, all felonies. Burton is being held in the Izard County Jail with bond set at $250,000.

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