Investigators say Eric Robinson duped in international scam targeting Jacksonville mayor's committee
One of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s political committees squandered about $120,000 last year by falling victim to an elaborate phone scam that police detectives traced back to Nigeria, according to reports from a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office investigation that included help from the U.S. Secret Service.
In May 2017, Eric Robinson — a Sarasota County School Board member and an accountant well known for representing Florida Republican political committees, including Curry’s — wired $119,797 from one of Curry’s main political committees, Build Something that Lasts, to four different addresses ranging from Wyoming and Ohio to Missouri. Robinson believed he was doing so at the request of a fundraiser who works for Curry. The payments were purportedly for catering and consulting services, paid to people with no known connection to Curry or anyone who runs his political operation.
It turns out, investigators found, a phone scammer duped Robinson into believing he was Curry’s fundraiser, Kevin Hofmann of Tallahassee. Robinson didn’t realize the ruse until the real Hofmann called Robinson while he was on the phone with the impersonator. The scammer told Robinson to send money to places that all appear to be residential addresses.
“Robinson had a hard time in distinguishing who was the real Kevin Hofmann,” police wrote. “Robinson does not have caller ID to identify phone numbers.”
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