On January 16, 2026, the Kinston Police Department in North Carolina arrested 29-year-old Florida resident Michael Francois for stealing around $2.8 million through a technical support scam, where
- The scammers will contact their victims under the false personation of financial officials to falsely claim their financial accounts were compromised before gaining remote access to their victims’ computer and giving their victim a controlled phone.
- The victim will be asked to fire funds to purchase gold through the Carolina Coin & Gold company, photograph said gold, and hand it off to designated couriers or money mules.
During a controlled gold drop in the parking lot of a Kinston Walmart, Francois fled the scene and eventually crashed his car into a utility pole, suffering a head injury in the process as he was not wearing a seatbelt. Francois has since been charged with
- two counts of exploiting the elderly
- felony flee to elude arrest
- four counts of felony conspiracy
- resisting a public officer
- money laundering over $100,000
- two counts of obtaining money by false pretenses
- two counts of identity theft
- careless and reckless driving
- speeding
- stop sign violation
- failure to wear a seat belt
Additional arrests are possible as an investigation into the matter remains ongoing at the time of writing.