Warren County Sheriff’s Office says they can’t charge alleged scammer that cost county over a million dollars

Warren County Sheriff’s Office says they can’t charge alleged scammer that cost county over a million dollars Zach Richter WNYT New information on Warren County scam Warren County Officials say they can't charge the woman who is behind the scam. WARREN COUNTY, NY (WNYT) – The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said they do not have the jurisdiction to charge a 70-year-old women from Georgia who tried to steal over $3.3 million from Warren County. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office said the scam happened between Nov. 10 and Dec. 8, 2025, when the county received 16 phone calls from a man with a thick-sounding foreign accent. Ten of the calls were answered and most were taken by the Warren County Treasurer’s Office. The caller identified himself as a representative from Peckham Road Corp., according to the sheriff’s office. Warren County works with a business with a similar name, Peckham Industries, an asphalt and paving company. During a phone call on Nov. 12, 2025, the sheriff’s office said financial and business information was disclosed to the alleged scammer regarding Peckham Industries. The caller allegedly asked “about procedures to change payment from paper checks to ACH electronic payments,” the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office said no one from Warren County contacted Peckham Industries to verify the calls were coming from the company. In December 2025, Warren County received two separate invoices from Peckham Industries totaling more than $3.3 million. The county paid both through ACH electronic payments and Arrow Bank flagged both transactions. The bank called the deputy treasurer, who approved them. On Dec. 23, 2025, Peckham Industries contacted Warren County to ask why it had not been paid yet. County officials then realized they had fallen victim to a scam. Officials said Warren County recovered $2.1 million with help from the bank and investigators. Officials do not believe the remaining $1.2 million will ever be returned. Local law enforcement in Georgia said they will not charge the 70-year-old woman from Georgia who investigators said was behind the scam because the alleged crimes took place in Georgia. The Warren County Board of Supervisors has a new policy is now in place to help prevent this from happening again.