A 25-year-old Delaware man, Jonathan Rashad Francois, has been arrested for allegedly scamming a 70-year-old resident of Carroll Township out of $20,000 through a fake antivirus scheme.
Police say the incident began when the victim received a notification claiming his McAfee antivirus subscription had expired and required a payment of $488.99. After responding, the man was persuaded to grant remote access to his computer.
According to court records, the scammer instructed the victim to enter the payment into a pop-up box. Shortly after, the victim was told that a major error had occurred, claiming that $48,500 had mistakenly been deposited into his bank account. The suspect then demanded that the money be returned.
Following these instructions, the victim visited his bank and withdrew the maximum amount allowed—$20,000. He was asked to send a photo of the cash as confirmation. The scammer then arranged for a “runner” to collect the money directly from the victim’s home.
After handing over the cash, the victim later realized he had been defrauded and contacted authorities.
Despite this, the suspect continued contacting the victim, demanding the remaining $28,000 and instructing him to withdraw more money from another bank. By this time, police had become involved and devised a plan to catch the suspect. Investigators sent a fake image of cash to the scammer.
When Francois arrived at the victim’s home to collect additional money, officers were waiting and arrested him on the spot.
During questioning, Francois told police he had been directed by an individual known only as “Gem,” whom he had met online. He claimed he had never met this person in real life and had only communicated digitally.
Francois now faces multiple felony charges, including conspiracy to commit theft by deception, receiving stolen property, forgery, and using communication devices for criminal activity. He is currently being held at York County Prison after bail was set at $50,000.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for March 27.
