A man suspected of impersonating Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Deputies and using the agency’s credibility to scam multiple individuals out of tens of thousands of dollars has been arrested.
In late October, following a weeks-long investigation, BSO detectives served an arrest warrant on Raquan Hardy, who is in jail out of state on similar charges. The investigation began in early September after a phone scam surfaced in Broward County where an individual spoofed a BSO Courthouse Control Room phone number, contacted victims, and claimed to be a current BSO deputy.
The scammer informed victims that there were active warrants for their arrest. The scammer told victims that they needed to pay a surety bond in cash through a bail bond company to avoid arrest on outstanding charges. The arrest warrants did not exist.
According to investigators, at least four victims fell prey to the scam, handing over more than $50,000 to Hardy between September 7 and 10. Overall, BSO detectives received more than 20 reports from multiple individuals, mostly female medical professionals, who were contacted by the scammer in early September.
Once alerted to the scam, BSO Dania Beach District detectives, along with BSO’s Public Corruption Unit, immediately opened an investigation and soon learned that similar crimes had recently occurred in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Through investigative means, BSO detectives developed Hardy as a suspect in the Broward County cases and learned that he was in South Florida in the days before the scam began. However, before they could locate him in South Florida, Hardy fled to Georgia.
BSO detectives eventually tracked Hardy to Dallas and began working with authorities there. While in Texas, police conducted a traffic stop on Hardy and arrested him on a warrant for similar crimes in Pennsylvania. Following his arrest in Texas, Hardy was extradited to Pennsylvania.
On October 19, a Broward County judge signed an arrest warrant for Hardy for crimes committed in Broward County. Hardy faces a total of 21 counts related to the phone scam, including an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, impersonating a law enforcement officer, extortion, and criminal use of personal identification information. The total bond for the 21 counts is $900,000.
The investigation into Hardy’s crimes and whether anyone assisted him is ongoing.
Please be aware that BSO will never call you to ask for money or personal information, demand bond money or any form of payment. If you receive this type of call, do not provide any personal information or money. Instead, immediately hang up and contact law enforcement.
