Another Atlanta woman arrested in Florida in Bitcoin scam linked to Georgia prison fraud ring, authorities say
A Georgia woman accused of helping move money from a phone scam impersonating law enforcement has been arrested after investigators traced the stolen funds through cryptocurrency transactions, according to Florida authorities.
D’Zyre Youngblood, 28, of Atlanta, is facing charges including grand theft and organized scheme to defraud after detectives linked her to a scam that cost a Florida woman more than $79,000, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators said the victim received a phone call from someone posing as “Captain Eric Dietrich” with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. The caller falsely claimed there was a warrant for her arrest and pressured her to pay thousands of dollars to avoid jail.
Following the caller’s instructions, the victim withdrew cash from her bank account and deposited it via several Bitcoin ATM transactions. Authorities said the payments totaled more than $79,000.
Detectives with the sheriff’s office Financial Crimes Unit later traced the cryptocurrency transfers through multiple digital wallets and eventually to a Coinbase account linked to Youngblood, according to investigators.
Authorities said some of the funds were converted to U.S. dollars and transferred into a bank account connected to Youngblood before being spent through retail purchases and digital payment apps.
During a phone interview with investigators, Youngblood acknowledged having a cryptocurrency account and said acquaintances connected to incarcerated individuals had asked her to receive money through the account, according to the report.
Georgia State Prison Bitcoin scam rings
The case is part of a broader investigation into fraud rings that impersonate law enforcement officers and pressure victims to send money through cryptocurrency. Investigators believe some of the scams are coordinated by inmates inside Georgia prisons with help from people on the outside.
The sheriff’s office said Youngblood is not the only person charged in connection with the scheme. Authorities have also identified additional suspects in related cases, including Christina Rimes and Lakesha Heard, as investigators continue working to dismantle the network.
Rimes, of Morven, Georgia, is accused of stealing $17,000 from a Daytona Beach resident in a Bitcoin scam after the victim was told he had a federal warrant out for his arrest from a sheriff’s office in North Carolina. She was taken into custody in June 2025.
Heard, another Atlanta native, was extradited to Volusia County in August 2025 for scamming a Volusia resident out of thousands of dollars, authorities said. The victim in that case was contacted by an individual claiming to be a VSO lieutenant who advised her she’d missed jury duty and had a warrant for her arrest. The victim was instructed to deposit $9,300 into a Bitcoin ATM, which she did.
Officials are urging the public to be cautious of calls claiming to be from law enforcement demanding payment. Authorities stress that legitimate law enforcement agencies will never request payment over the phone.
