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Riverview man gets revenge on scammer, helps deputies during undercover sting: HCSO

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Published  February 17, 2025 5:34pm EST
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News

Revenge on scammer during undercover sting

FOX 13's Ariel Placencia shares how one man turned the tables on a scammer after being out thousands of dollars.

The Brief

    • A Riverview man got revenge on a man who allegedly scammed him out of thousands by helping deputies during an undercover sting: HCSO.
    • Bruce Frady got a call in November from someone claiming to be a police officer who said one of Frady's good friends was in jail and needed money for bail.
    • Frady’s message to Bay Area residents is that scammers are only getting smarter.

RIVERVIEW, Fla. - A Riverview resident said he provided information to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office that ultimately led to an arrest after he was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

The backstory:

Bruce Frady got a call from someone claiming to be police in November. The Hillsborough County resident learned one of his good friends was in jail and now needed money for bail.

At one point, Frady told FOX 13 that his friend supposedly came on the line. The supposed friend told Frady not to tell anyone what was happening, which is why Frady didn’t call his friend's phone number separately.

"And it was exactly his voice," Frady said after speaking to the unknown caller.

The request was for $7,500, so Frady went to the bank. Then he followed the caller’s instructions.

"He had me put (the money) in a box, seal the box, and had one of his drivers come by to pick it up," Frady said.

Court documents filed this month describe how that exact same scenario played out a second time when the caller sent a different driver to pick up another $7,500 from Frady’s Riverview house.

But after the third request, Frady called the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, who sent deputies in undercover vehicles to his house.

A Riverview man got revenge on a man who allegedly scammed him out of thousands by helping deputies during an undercover sting: HCSO.

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"Got with them to make a sting!" Frady told FOX 13.

Court records detail how deputies listened while Frady talked to the unknown person on speakerphone to coordinate a third payment. Frady told FOX 13 deputies put fake money inside a box for the Riverview resident to hand over to the driver, who showed up with an "Uber sign in the front windshield," according to court documents.

Deputies followed that vehicle from Riverview to Orlando and reportedly watched the driver hand the package to a man. But when deputies approached by foot, the man "threw the package and began to run from surveillance units," court records show.

That man – identified as Manuel Emilio Almonte Martinez -- was later arrested and charged with third degree grand theft.

Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

What they're saying:

Frady’s message to Bay Area residents is that scammers are only getting smarter.

"So be very careful," Frady said.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia.

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