Press Release: Jury Scam Warning

Geauga County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 18, 2026

Geauga County Court of Common Pleas Warns Public of Jury Duty Scam

The Geauga County Court of Common Pleas and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office are warning the public of ongoing jury duty scams. Scammers impersonate court or law enforcement officials, claiming a missed jury summons and threaten immediate arrest or fines unless the victim pays a fee or verifies personal information.

Key characteristics of these scams:

• Threats: Callers use high-pressure tactics, fake case information, and threats of warrants.
• Demands: Scammers demand immediate payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency to avoid jail time.
• Phishing: Some scams direct you to fake websites to input personal information.

If you receive one of these suspicious calls, texts, or emails, disengage immediately and do not send money or share personal information. Verify the communication by contacting one of the entities below. You can also report the scam online to the Federal Trade Commission or notify local law enforcement.

Geauga County Sheriff’s Office: 440-279-2009

Judge Paschke’s Jury Manager: 440-279-2194

Judge Rambo’s Jury Manager: 440-279-2017

Clerk of Courts: 440-279-1960

To combat these “attacks,” courts across the country (federal, state, and local) are adding links on their webpages directing citizens to report such scams to the Federal Trade Commission.

• You can report scams and suspicious communications to the Federal Trade Commission (https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/).
• The FTC welcomes reports through its portal about any type of scam or suspicious communication, including DMV or traffic fine scams.
• Law enforcement can access these reports once the FTC processes them into the database.
• The public can see aggregate data at the FTC Explore Data page (https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/explore-data).
• At present, these court-related reports appear underreported.