I.R.S. Scam Mastermind Indicted In North Mississippi

OXFORD (WCBI) -A Florida man who ran a bogus money scam targeting residents across the state is facing a 7 count federal indictment.

Joel Pando of Miami, Florida is accused of bilking a Booneville resident among scores of others in the phone scam. Pando and others working with him would call claiming to be an IRS agent seeking back taxes or a loan company saying the victim had received a loan they could claim by sending money to Pando. The Florida resident made his first appearance in Oxford Federal Court Thursday where he pleaded not guilty. The indictment says Pando took more than $49,000 in the scam including $4,900 from the Booneville victim.