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This article focuses on unsolved homicides rather than elder fraud. Two mothers in Milledgeville, Georgia—Dermetrics Warren and Khadijah James—are seeking answers about the murders of their loved ones: Warren's son Diquan Key (killed in 2015) and James's mother and uncle (killed in 2021), with little progress from law enforcement after 9 and 3 years respectively. Both families plan to attend a Baldwin NAACP forum to demand accountability and information from city officials and law enforcement.

Romance scams targeting students and recent graduates are increasing, with victims losing an average of £2,228 per scam, according to new Tinder research that found 44% of young adults share personal details with people they've never met in person. Love Island star Georgia Steel has joined a campaign with Tinder and Get Safe Online to raise awareness after she was defrauded by a man posing as a wealthy American, who was revealed to be convicted fraudster Medi Abalimba (jailed for four years in 2021 for £170,000+ in total deceptions). Experts emphasize that romance scams exploit emotional manipulation and are difficult to spot, with young

A 65-year-old man from Athens, Georgia was victimized by a celebrity romance scam in which he believed he had developed an online relationship with singer Miley Cyrus. The scam exploited the common tactic of impersonating a well-known celebrity on social media to build false trust with the victim. No dollar amount or final outcome was specified in the available excerpt.

Eight individuals across the U.S. were arrested and charged with defrauding 139 seniors of over $11 million through romance scams, counterfeit checks, gold bar schemes, account hacking, and identity theft. The defendants, operating from New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and Rochester, face charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft, carrying sentences of up to 15-30 years in prison. The arrests were facilitated by Save Our Seniors, a collaborative task force of federal, state, and local authorities formed to investigate elder fraud cases.

Eight individuals from New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and New York were arrested and charged with defrauding 139 seniors of over $11 million through romance scams, counterfeit checks, gold bar schemes, account hacking, and identity theft. The defendants, including Dhruv Patel who defrauded at least 12 victims of over $9.1 million, face charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft carrying sentences of up to 15-30 years in prison. The arrests were coordinated through Save Our Seniors, a working group formed in April to combat elder fraud across state lines.

Dorian Wilkerson, a former Georgia instructor, defrauded his wife Shareza Jackson of over $2 million by falsely claiming to be a cosmetic surgeon and convincing her to fund a fake clinic called The Best U Now in Atlanta. The scam was exposed in Netflix's docuseries "Love Con Revenge," though Wilkerson has not been criminally charged, Jackson has not recovered her money, and he continues to live freely in Atlanta while pursuing a defamation countersuit against her.

Eight people from across the U.S. were arrested and charged with defrauding 139 seniors of over $11 million through romance scams, counterfeit checks, gold bar schemes, account hacking, and identity theft. The defendants, operating in New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, and New York, face charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft, with sentences carrying up to 15-30 years in prison. The arrests were facilitated by Save Our Seniors, a working group of federal, state, and local authorities formed to collaborate on elder fraud investigations.

Eight individuals from Georgia, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, and Western New York were arrested for participating in elder fraud schemes that defrauded over 139 victims nationwide of more than $11 million in actual and attempted fraud. The suspects employed various tactics including romance fraud, customer support scams, impersonation of federal employees, retirement account hacking, counterfeit checks, and identity theft. The arrests were made by the "Save Our Seniors" task force, a collaborative effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, with one of the arrested individuals, Estermarie Jones, being from Rochester.

Shimon Hayut, the subject of Netflix's 2022 documentary *The Tinder Swindler*, was arrested in Georgia for allegedly stealing over $52,000 from a woman in Berlin through romance fraud and identity theft—his second arrest for fraud following a 2019 conviction. Hayut had run dating scams on women worldwide by posing as a diamond mogul's son on Tinder, and is believed to have defrauded over $10 million in total. He faces a three-month detention in Georgia pending potential extradition to Germany and additional criminal charges.

Dorian Wilkerson, a former math instructor from Georgia, scammed his wife Shareza Jackson out of more than $2 million by falsely claiming to be a cosmetic surgeon at Emory Hospital and convincing her to take out loans to fund a fake clinic called The Best U Now. The scheme was featured in Netflix's docuseries *Love Con Revenge*, which premiered in 2024, and revealed how Wilkerson used romantic manipulation and false credentials to exploit his spouse. Despite Jackson filing a civil suit and the national exposure from the documentary, Wilkerson was never criminally charged, remains free in Atlanta, and has not repaid the stolen funds.

A 63-year-old Florida man, Charles Henry Williams, was arrested in connection with a multi-year timeshare resale scam that defrauded an elderly Georgia couple of over $1 million. The scheme targeted vulnerable seniors across multiple states, with the primary victims deceived into making payments for fraudulent property transactions over four years before the fraud was discovered. Williams faces charges including Theft by Deception and Exploitation of an Elder Person, and law enforcement urges seniors and their families to verify financial requests and remain alert to similar schemes.

A 63-year-old Florida man was arrested in August 2025 after a five-month investigation into a four-year timeshare resale scam that defrauded an elderly Georgia couple of over $1 million. Charles Henry Williams faced charges including Theft by Deception and Exploitation of an Elder Person, and authorities identified additional victims across multiple states, suggesting a broader fraud scheme. Law enforcement urges seniors and families to verify financial requests and remain vigilant against online fraud schemes targeting vulnerable elderly individuals.

Fulton County launched ACT (Avoid Cyber Threats), a free online cybersecurity training program for seniors, in response to alarming fraud statistics showing that seniors lost approximately $5 billion to internet crimes in 2024, with Georgia ranking 7th nationally for such losses. The program educates seniors on recognizing digital scams including AI voice cloning, government impersonation, and phishing schemes, with the county aiming to train 2,000 seniors and caregivers by year-end. One local resident shared how she fell victim to a scam that resulted in $2,000 being stolen from her account, though her bank helped her recover the funds.

A Florida man, Charles Henry Williams, was arrested following a 5-month multi-state cyber investigation for running an online timeshare scam that defrauded an elderly Georgia couple of over $1 million across four years, with additional victims identified during the investigation. Williams was charged with Theft by Deception and Exploitation of an Elder Person and arrested on August 29, 2025, to face charges in Coweta County. The investigation involved coordination between the GBI, Georgia Attorney General's Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Florida law enforcement agencies.

# AI-Powered Holiday Scams on the Rise Artificial intelligence is making holiday scams increasingly sophisticated and dangerous, allowing criminals to create convincing fake voices and complex fraud schemes that have cost Georgians millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Secret Service. Romance and investment scams are among the costliest threats, with romance fraud causing over $800 million in losses nationwide and one metro Atlanta victim losing more than $3 million to AI-enhanced investment scams. To protect yourself, the Secret Service recommends being skeptical of unsolicited calls claiming to be from family members, extraordinary sales offers, and suspicious online coupons—always verify directly through official company websites before responding to requests for money.

Malcolm Walker, a man with nearly 80,000 Facebook followers, is accused of defrauding families across multiple states, including a 77-year-old Douglas County woman and her son who claim he took significant money from them while promising to promote their product line and arrange meetings with business coaches in Colorado that never materialized. Walker has been the subject of multiple investigations by Fox 5 News throughout the year, with victims in other Georgia counties also reporting similar schemes involving unfulfilled promises and financial loss.

Fulton County launched a free online training program called "Avoid Cyber Threats" to help seniors recognize and avoid digital scams, following FBI data showing seniors suffered approximately $5 billion in financial losses last year. The program was created in response to the vulnerability of older adults to cyber fraud, illustrated by a resident's experience losing $2,000 to a phishing scam, and addresses the fact that Georgia ranks seventh nationally for internet crime losses.

A Georgia woman lost nearly $30,000 in a "task scam" after responding to a text about a part-time remote job. The scammers posed as a legitimate company, provided fake credentials, paid her for initial training tasks to build trust, then demanded she invest her own money to continue work, ultimately revealing the entire job opportunity was fraudulent. The Federal Trade Commission reports that such schemes are surging, typically starting with text messages promising work like app optimization or product boosting, using small initial payouts to establish credibility before escalating financial demands.

A Georgia family lost over $1,200 to a scam targeting grieving relatives, in which an impostor claiming to represent a Veterans Affairs Cemetery convinced the victim to purchase a fake burial cost insurance policy. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urged state residents to remain alert when selecting funeral and cemetery services following a loved one's death. The scam exploits vulnerable families during their time of grief to fraudulently sell nonexistent insurance products.

The Paulding County Sheriff's Office in Georgia is warning residents to watch for storm recovery scams following tornado damage in the area. Scammers pose as contractors to target vulnerable residents; authorities urge people to only pay for work after it is completed rather than upfront.

Romance scammers stole $1.14 billion from victims in 2023, with authorities warning Americans—particularly seniors—about this growing fraud. Scammers use fake identities to build trust quickly, then fabricate emergencies (medical or travel expenses) to solicit money; notable cases include a 76-year-old Georgia woman who lost her $70,000 life savings and a French woman defrauded of $850,000 by scammers using AI-generated deepfakes of celebrity Brad Pitt.

This educational segment from the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia provides fraud prevention advice for 2025, emphasizing identity theft as a persistent threat. The key recommendation is to monitor credit reports two to three times per year (utilizing the free weekly access available since COVID-era policy changes) to quickly detect unauthorized accounts and address identity theft before significant damage occurs.

This article is not related to elder fraud, scams, or elder abuse. It concerns a political dispute between state lawmakers and the U.S. Postal Service regarding mail delivery delays caused by operational changes, specifically the consolidation of mail processing into regional centers like the Palmetto facility in Georgia. This falls outside the scope of Elderus, which focuses on fraud and abuse targeting elderly individuals.