On 9/19/18, four subjects were arrested by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office in connection with a fraud against a jewelry firm. A local retail jeweler spoke to an off-duty police officer who worked in his store. The jeweler described a call he received from a diamond firm. The firm had told the jeweler that they received an order from his store for $150,000 in diamonds. However, the local jeweler told the firm he never placed that order.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office identified the delivery company handling the diamond shipment and conducted surveillance at the designated pick-up location. A subject picked up the package and was arrested. Three other subjects were arrested at other locations. The group used the store’s information to impersonate employees and place a false order. The subjects are believed to have committed similar scams in the Southeast. The subjects were charged with computer crime over $60,000 and identity theft and attempted theft over $60,000.