An Alabama man is walked out of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office in Â鶹´«Ã½ on Wednesday after being accused of impersonating the sheriff to scam a woman out of thousands of dollars.
The Burke County sheriff says an Alabama man replicated his voice to scam a woman out of thousands of dollars.
Carlos Wilkerson, 35, was charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, extortion and misdemeanor impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to Burke County Sheriff Banks Hinceman. He we brought from Alabama to Burke County this week. He was brought to the sheriff's office on Wednesday.
Carlos Wilkerson, left, is escorted out of the Burke County Sheriff's Office in handcuffs Wednesday by Sheriff Banks Hinceman.Â
Chrissy Murphy, The News Herald
Hinceman alleges Wilkerson somehow mimicked his voice while calling a Burke County woman Hinceman’s family knows well. He said Wilkerson, impersonating the sheriff, told the woman she missed jury duty and needed to a pay fine to avoid jail time.
“She said it sounded like she was talking to me over the phone,†Hinceman said. “I talked to her later that afternoon and she said, ‘It sounded just like you over the phone.’ And, like I said, I’ve known this family a long time.â€
He said he wasn’t sure if the impersonator used artificial intelligence to mimic his voice. The man also knew other details about the woman and the sheriff – including specific details about how the families knew each other.
Wilkerson was silent Wednesday as he was escorted out of the sheriff’s office by a deputy and Hinceman himself.
“Everybody has their day in court, but I feel pretty good about this case,†Hinceman said.
Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941.
