GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities have identified two Florida suspects and a Conyers man who are accused of running separate bank impersonation schemes that stole more than $200,000 from victims in Gwinnett County.
Investigators say the suspects posed as fraud investigators from major banks and used spoofed phone numbers to trick victims into transferring large sums of money.
According to police reports, a 35-year-old man in Duluth received a call from someone claiming to be a Wells Fargo fraud specialist.
The caller told him his account had been compromised and that he needed to withdraw $25,000 and deposit it into a new account to secure his funds.
Following the caller’s instructions, he withdrew the money from multiple ATMs and deposited it into a Chase Bank account.
He later realized the call was fraudulent and filed a police report in Duluth in October 2024.
Duluth police charged Shamar Plancher this week and he remains on the run.
TRENDING STORIES:
- City of South Fulton releases video of mayor being escorted from City Hall, emptying car
- Crews find missing teacher’s shoes while searching Lake Oconee
- Atlanta traffic stop for phone leads to discovery of bricks of cocaine, 100 lbs. of meth, police say
A separate 74-year-old victim was tricked into granting suspects access to online banking.
Investigators say the suspects used that access to transfer more than $216,000 to various accounts.
Police told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that they tracked the funds to bank accounts in Florida and New York before they were ultimately withdrawn.
“It’s really alarming,” Cpl. Juan Madiedo with Gwinnett County Police said. “If you get any phone call or text message from an institution, do not click on any links. Call the bank yourself.”
Police said these types of scams are becoming more common, particularly targeting elderly individuals.
“The victims in this case usually tend to be elderly,” Madiedo said. “They claim fraud occurred on the victim’s account, then get access to their online banking where money is transferred elsewhere.”
Gwinnett police said they were able to track the suspects in their case after identifying withdrawals made from the stolen funds. Ruiz Render and Iesha Delcane have been linked to the stolen money but have not been taken into custody.
“In this case, some money was sent to New York State. Other monies were sent to Florida. Investigators were able to identify two suspects in South Florida and take charges on them,” the investigator said.
Gwinnett investigators said they are working to recover at least $120,000 of the stolen money but warn there are still active scammers targeting victims in Georgia and across the country.
“We want our victims to be very vigilant,” Madiedo said. “If you receive a text message, never click on any links. Call the bank yourself and confirm.”
©2025 Cox Media Group
