Scammers Swindle Florida City Out of Nearly $750K With Fraudulent Invoice

Police say scammers posing as a local construction company doing business with a north Florida city got an employee to change information that sent $742,376 to a fraudulent bank account.

The Ocala Star-Banner reports a senior accounting specialist for the city of Ocala received an email in September that was believed to be from Ausley Construction. It included a form requesting the city to change Ausley’s banking information.

A police report says the company submitted a legitimate invoice for work related to an airport construction project on Oct. 17. The city paid the invoice to the fraudulent account on Oct. 18.

City officials say they’re unsure how the scammers gained access to the vendor numbers and other information.

An investigation continues.

Topics Florida Fraud