Crypto scam in Georgia | Couple loses retirement fund.
The couple has filed reports with the Gwinnett County Police Department and the FBI
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County couple is trying to find a way forward after they said they lost $800,000 from their retirement fund after falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam. Now, they’re working to prevent others from suffering the same fate.
Jerry and Mindy Dunaway built a life they could be proud of. They were determined to spend retirement playing golf, going on vacations and watching their grandkids grow up. But now, they feel the future is uncertain after a scam involving cryptocurrency.
A couple of months ago, Jerry said he was contacted through WhatsApp about a cryptocurrency investment opportunity. What started out as a low-risk venture brought high returns. It eventually turned into bigger investments until Jerry said he tried to access his money earlier this month. That’s when he found that more than $800,000 was gone, and he was scammed.
“You swear to God you’re talking to that person,” Jerry said. “It’s that sophisticated now, and that’s dangerous, very dangerous.”
The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report showed that internet-related complaints and crimes continued to increase significantly in Georgia and nationwide. In 2024, the FBI said it received nearly 860,000 complaints with related losses topping $16.6 billion. That’s an increase of 33 percent in losses.
In that same report, Georgia ranked 11th in complaints filed by state, with reported losses around $420 million. The bulk of those losses stemmed from crypto scams. The FBI said the top three cybercrimes involved phishing or spoofing, extortion and personal data breaches.
The FBI noted a rise in complaints from seniors. From 2023 to 2024, seniors filed 71 percent more complaints and reported an increase of 89 percent in losses in Georgia. Reports of cryptocurrency-related crimes leaped in Georgia by 122 percent from 2023 to 2024. Estimated losses from crypto-related scams during that same timeframe increased by 66 percent.
Emory University professor Rajiv Garg said crypto isn’t as regulated as traditional cash. So, one can take money anywhere and access it without as many restrictions. However, that freedom can come at a cost, Garg said, and a big risk, especially when scammers get involved.
“The scammers are utilizing capitalizing on this by generating trust from these investors,” Garg said. “The scams are very easy, because there’s no oversight. You cannot go to a bank and said, ‘Look, my money is stolen. Can you give it back?’ Because the bank wasn’t even involved in those scenarios.”
Garg said scammers can even write code using AI that can keep communicating with large numbers of people in an attempt to build trust, share info and answer questions. He warned people to be skeptical, do independent research and ask questions of trusted financial advisers and professionals to avoid getting scammed. He also urged people not to share personal or financial information or click on unknown links.
As the Dunaways try to find a path forward, they reflect on the adversity they’ve faced before. Mindy had a health scare that nearly took her life. Jerry said they can learn from that experience and this latest one how to be resilient and how to hold onto life.
“What she went through made us stronger to where now, when this happened to us, it’s like we’ll get through it. We did it before, we’ll get through it again,” Jerry said. “We’ll make a victory lap with this somehow. I want to make people aware that have gone through these tragedies, are going through the tragedies, will be going through the tragedies that they’re not alone. I’m a victim, but I’m not going to stay a victim.”
Anyone interested in helping the Dunaway family can do so here.