Georgia man accused of taking $30K from women in expert witness scam targeting doctors, nurses

A Georgia man is accused of taking more than $30,000 from two women in a scam targeting doctors and nurses in the Pittsburgh area.

Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus on Thursday announced the apprehension of Richard Wayne Long, 48, of Ellenwood, Ga.

According to a criminal complaint, detectives found Long on Wednesday at a gas station in Lilburn, Ga. Ellenwood and Lilburn are east of Atlanta.

According to the complaint, two women were contacted by phone July 13 by men claiming to be sergeants with the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department. They each were told they had missed court hearings where they were to testify as expert witnesses, and that they would have to pay fines to avoid being charged or taken to jail.

One woman agreed to pay two $5,125 fines for failing to appear and contempt of court. She was told to bring cash to a bail bonds agency on the Boulevard of the Allies.

The woman was transferred to a “bail bondsman,” who told the woman where to park behind the agency on Cherry Way. A white man with grayish-white hair, later identified as Long, approached her vehicle and claimed to be a U.S. marshal.

The man became hostile when the woman asked for identification and told her he could leave and she could go to jail, the complaint states. Fearing she would be taken to jail, she gave him $10,250, the total of the two fines.

The complaint states that another woman contacted detectives July 14, saying she also had been contacted July 13 by a man claiming to be a sergeant with the sheriff’s department.

The second woman was given the same story and instructions as the first, but the complaint says she met with the same man twice and handed over about $20,125 in cash.

Detectives identified the vehicle the man was driving and found its owner in Duluth, Ga. According to the complaint, the owner told detectives she had rented the car to a woman from July 10 to July 17, and that she had been accompanied by a white man with gray hair in an SUV.

Two detectives found Long driving an SUV registered to him at a gas station in Lilburn about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the complaint states. They identified Long as the same white man from surveillance photos and video taken before, during and after the exchanges of money with the women in Allegheny County.

Long was being held in the Gwinnett County Jail awaiting extradition to Allegheny County.

Long is charged with two counts of theft, four counts of theft by deception, four counts of theft by extortion and two counts of impersonating a public servant, according to court records.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing as more victims are being identified who may be linked to this case.

Kraus is asking any victims or witnesses who recognize Long to contact the sheriff’s office at 412-350-4714.