Gwinnett County police are in search of a 23-year-old man accused of bilking potential homeowners out of $200,000 through a Facebook Marketplace real estate scam. Victims were duped into wiring large sums of money for properties in Ellenwood, Georgia, believing they were dealing with a legitimate law group in Atlanta. As per FOX 5 Atlanta, the suspect, identified as Jaylen Anderson from Fairburn, remained at large after the police revealed his schemes in March.
The scam drew unsuspecting victims with ads for a home in Ellenwood, where one couple particularly lost $100,000 after a person, going by the name Noah Roberts, convinced them to transfer funds for a house they had seen and inspected. Luz Holdsworth told FOX 5 Atlanta, "We spent months and months saving for this money," only to find out that the law office had no record of any Noah Roberts or the house sale during their supposed closing.
Detectives managed to swiftly piece together the information leading to Anderson, who they charged with four counts of theft by deception, identity theft, and records and reports of currency transactions. Describing the suspect's methods, Cpl. Juan Madiedo explained to WSB-TV that Anderson "was masking his name, obviously, using different aliases, he would mask his phone number, his email addresses. He made it appear legitimate like he did represent a law group here in Atlanta."
As investigators continue to trace Anderson's whereabouts, victims like the Holdsworths bear the brunt of his deception, with Luz stating, "There’s no way I'm getting my money back." Police are urging anyone with information on Anderson or the scam to come forward and contact GCPD or remain anonymous by reaching out to Crime Stoppers, where they could potentially receive a cash reward for tips leading to an arrest and indictment.
