Sex offender with 91 felony warrants in Georgia found in FL with 3 juveniles
Richard Bailey. Photo courtesy of Bay County Sheriff's Office
BAY COUNTY, Fla. - A Georgia fugitive wanted on 91 felony warrants was arrested in Bay County, Florida, after a three-week investigation led by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
What we know:
Richard Bailey, 55, was taken into custody at a residence on Cedar Bluff Road, where authorities found him hiding with three juveniles and a woman identified as Brittany Addis, 36. Bailey, a registered sex offender, is wanted in Georgia on 88 counts of fraud and three counts of racketeering, tied to a scheme involving approximately $3.2 million.
Brittany Addis. Photo courtesy of Bay County Sheriff's Office
According to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford, deputies coordinated with Georgia authorities and conducted extensive surveillance before moving in. Bailey initially refused to surrender, but deputies were able to safely remove the juveniles and Addis from the home before executing a search warrant. Inside, they recovered a firearm and illegal drugs.
Bailey was booked into the Bay County Jail on multiple charges including failure to register as a sex offender, possession of synthetic cannabinoid, possession of drug paraphernalia, child neglect, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and fugitive from justice. He is awaiting extradition to Georgia.
Addis was also arrested and charged with child neglect, harboring a sex offender, and drug-related offenses. The juveniles were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
What they're saying:
Sheriff Ford praised the efforts of the BCSO Warrants Division, Criminal Investigations Division, and Special Investigations Division for safely resolving the situation and removing Bailey from the community.
Dig deeper:
According to the Baker County District Attorney’s Office, Bailey was wanted in connection with a large-scale cryptocurrency scam that defrauded at least 88 people and resulted in losses totaling $3.2 million.
Twenty-two of the victims live in southwest Georgia, while the others are located across the country, the DA’s office told FOX 5 Atlanta.
In scams like this, victims are persuaded by fake "investment managers" to buy cryptocurrency through legitimate exchanges and then transfer the funds to fraudulent platforms or wallets controlled by the scammers.
The scammers manipulate these platforms to display fake profits and may even allow small withdrawals to build trust. However, when victims attempt to withdraw larger sums, the scammers vanish with the entire investment.
In this case, Bailey and others allegedly convinced the victims to invest in a cryptocurrency known as XUSD. They were told that the cryptocoin was backed by "hard assets," including gemstones and minerals. They were given a date that the cryptocoin would go "live," but that date kept being pushed back. When investors began requesting refunds, they were reportedly told they needed to fill out paperwork. However, once that was completed, they stopped hearing from the alleged scammers.
Two other suspects have also been arrested — one in Tennessee and another in New York — and a fourth suspect in Texas is expected to be arrested soon, according to the Baker County DA's office. Their names have not been released at this time.
What we don't know:
The relationship between the juveniles and Bailey and Addis was not defined by the sheriff's office.