The San Juan Sheriff’s Office warned residents about calls from someone claiming to be “Lt. Coleman,” alleging an outstanding warrant and demanding payment. The office says there is no such lieutenant position and that it would not request money through those calls.

A local warning highlighted a phone scam in which callers impersonate law enforcement to pressure victims into immediate payment. The San Juan Sheriff’s Office reported that scammers contact people claiming to be “Lt. Coleman,” often using the threat of a warrant to create urgency and fear. In these schemes, the caller typically directs the victim to resolve the alleged warrant right away—commonly by paying money via methods that are difficult to reverse. The Sheriff’s Office emphasized that there is no such lieutenant position and that the department would not contact residents in that manner or ask for payment through phone calls. The warning is aimed at stopping the tactic at its core: impersonation combined with intimidation. Victims who comply are unlikely to get any legitimate resolution, because the “warrant” is fabricated and the payment is taken by fraudsters. The most effective defense is verification. Recipients of such calls should avoid sending money or providing personal information, and instead independently contact the relevant agency using official numbers. Community alerts like this reduce compliance by helping people recognize the script—fake authority, urgent allegations, and a push to pay immediately. The case serves as a reminder that warrant scams frequently use caller-ID tricks or detailed impersonation to appear credible, but they remain a fraud pattern designed to extract funds quickly.