On April 23, 2026, city police units responded to the Police Department lobby regarding a possible fraud report. The victim, stated that he had been contacted by someone claiming to be Detective Casey from the Sex Offender Registry. The caller informed the victim that because he had been on the registry for over ten years, he was eligible for removal if he paid a removal fee.

Since the victim does not own a smartphone, he used his neighbor’s phone to receive a barcode, which he then took to the Dollar General on Miller Avenue to make a $500 payment. He was later told that he had responded too late and was required to pay an additional $380 late fee. He made this second payment at CVS on West Avenue using another barcode.

In total, he sent $880. Both transactions appeared on his receipts as www.payithere.com, which leads to a “Vanilla Direct Pay” website. The victim provided copies of the receipts to the reporting officer.