SCAM ALERT: Man posing as JSO tricking locals out of “bail” money

He’s posing as police to scam locals out of hundreds of dollars at a time.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is searching for 47-year-old Timothy Liptrap. He allegedly called a local business on Saturday, April 29th, claiming to be “Officer Anderson” with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He told the woman who answered that her boss had been arrested and his bail was $650.

The suspect told the woman that her boss’s brother-in-law is a police officer in St. Johns County/St. Augustine, and he had come up with half of the bond. The suspect then asked the victim if she could make up the rest.

The woman agreed to meet up with her boss’s “brother-in-law” to give him $340 for the bail. The suspect, still posing as “Officer Anderson”, told the victim to meet the “brother-in-law” around Philips and Sunbeam, because the “brother-in-law” was lost.

The meeting happened, where the “brother-in-law” told the victim that they would meet back up at the business where she works to repay her, after her boss was freed. “Officer Anderson” even called the woman back asking how everything had gone.

When the victim got back to the business, she called her boss and got voicemail. He later returned her call, but told the victim she had been home sleeping and had not been arrested. He further said his brother does not live anywhere near Jacksonville.

JSO says Liptrap is the suspect in this case, and he is responsible for other cases with the same scenario in various parts of town. Liptrap is wanted for three counts of grand theft and organized fraud.

Liptrap also goes by the aliases Colin Alexander, Jason Coulbourn, and Raymond Steiner. He has briwn hair and blue eyes, and is 5’9”, 190 pounds. Liptrap’s last known address is on Ortega Park Blvd, and he drives a gray, four door Dodge Charger with Florida tag HJD-U39.

If you have any information on Liptrap, or believe you have been victimized, you can contact JSO at 904-630-0500 ore JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. You can also submit an anonymous tip and be eligible for a possible reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.