BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer

Detective Sal Augeri with the Tampa Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Bureau, said the “Drop Scam” criminal network is growing, and without the proper resources, they aren’t going to be able to slow it down.

Augeri said according to information they’ve received, the scam artists recently collected on two big paydays, and they are gearing up in expectations of even more.

“It’s bigger this year than last year,” said Augeri. “I’ve gotten a lot of reports this year, and ledgers have been confiscated and arrests have been made. It’s shocking the amount of fraud that’s going on.”

Augeri said there’s just not enough manpower to handle the growth of the scam, and they also need to know what’s being done in a federal level to deal with the problem.

“I personally don’t see this problem being solved anytime soon. Now, they are having tax dollars dumped on Capital One cards and through direct deposit. What we’re seeing here in Tampa is happening all over the country.”

Augeri said the perpetrators are outfitting their homes with expensive furniture being purchased with the cards, throwing lavish parties, and driving around in expensive cars.

“What’s even more frustrating is a lot of the people getting the drop dollars are also getting federal assistance. That makes it even harder. I had a list of at least 50 known drop suspects, and the majority are getting other state and federal assistance. The government is the biggest loser when it comes to managing money, and that’s what has made this scam so easy to perpetrate.”

Augeri said he has received calls from people who want to assist them, but without the resources, there’s nothing they can do.

“The upcoming GOP convention will shrink our forces even more. I also feel the city shouldn’t have to foot the entire bill for this investigation. It’s all federal. In the next two months it’s really going to hit big.”