Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary M. Clemens advises Loudoun residents to be aware of jury duty fraud.
An individual claiming to be a law enforcement officer and using the name of an actual Sheriff’s deputy in
Loudoun County has called residents asking for payment of fines for failure to report for jury duty. Clemens
reports that this effort is an attempt to defraud citizens by taking advantage of their fear of potential legal
problems for skipping jury duty.
“Any citizen who receives a telephone call from someone claiming to be a local law enforcement
official requesting money for failure to appear for jury duty should refrain from submitting any payment,” said
Clemens.
Failure to report for jury duty will result in the citizen receiving notice from the Clerk’s Office that the
individual did not report for jury duty and the citizen will be provided with an opportunity to explain why he or
she did not report for mandatory jury duty. The only individual who will direct a citizen to pay any fines or fees
for missing jury duty will be a circuit court judge. In that situation, the citizen will receive notice in writing
from the Court and/or the Clerk of the Circuit Court that fines and/or fees are required as directed by the Court.
No local law enforcement officer will contact citizens to demand payment for missing jury duty.
Clemens suggests that Loudoun citizens collect as much information as possible about the individual
calling to demand payment for failure to report for jury duty and then contact the Sheriff’s Office to file a police
report. “Collecting sufficient information from the caller will enable local law enforcement to conduct an
investigation if necessary,” advised Clemens.
Residents of Loudoun County who believe they were a victim of this scam or of a similar scam, are
asked to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021 or file a report online at
sheriff.loudoun.gov/ReportOnline.