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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum and Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford today announced the grand opening of two new Seniors vs. Crime Offices in Jacksonville. The two new offices will provide seniors in Duval County with places to file complaints about fraud and scams, discuss their concerns with their peers and receive other assistance. The offices will be staffed by volunteer “Senior Sleuths” and are located inside two Jacksonville Sheriff Substations.

“The seniors in Jacksonville will absolutely benefit from having these Seniors vs. Crimes office and Senior Sleuths here in the community,” said Attorney General McCollum. “Our Sleuths have recovered millions for Florida seniors, and I’m proud of this innovative approach to consumer protection.”

Seniors and retired citizens involved in the Seniors vs. Crime program help educate Floridians about consumer-related fraud and conduct seminars on how seniors can protect themselves from becoming victims of crime. Since 2007, Sleuths have recovered $3.1 million for senior victims and has provided more than 95,000 volunteer hours of service to Florida seniors. The program has handled 8,880 cases over the past three years, referring hundreds of cases to law enforcement for criminal prosecution. There are currently over 40 Seniors vs. Crime office locations throughout the state, including the two new Jacksonville facilities.

“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is proud to have partnered with the Seniors vs. Crime program to bring this service to Jacksonville seniors. We respect and value our elders, and the JSO stands with the Attorney General’s Office to prevent them from being swindled, taken advantage of, or otherwise exploited. I look forward to watching this program grow here in Jacksonville,” said Sheriff John Rutherford.

Assistance that volunteers provided last year ranged from directing seniors to the proper organizations which could address their particular concerns to helping them understand bills that they may have received. Additional help can include actual recovery of property or money that is fraudulently taken from senior victims.

A recent case example from the newly opened Jacksonville Highlands Office highlighted how effective the Senior Sleuths can be when on the case. A senior citizen who felt he had been cheated visited the office earlier in February and spoke to a volunteer about a heat pump he had purchased over a year ago. The man had paid the vendor $950 for the new system, but it was never delivered. A Senior Sleuth was put on the case, and after a telephone call and a follow-up letter to the vendor, the elderly citizen received a refund for the full amount.

The two office locations are the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Zone 6 Police Substation, in the Highlands Shopping Center at 936 Dunn Ave, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Zone 2 Police Substation in the Regency Square Shopping Center at 9501 Arlington Expressway.

The Seniors vs. Crime program started nearly 20 years ago in partnership with AARP. Additional information about the program is available online at: http://www.seniorsvscrime.com.