This is the sixth in what turned into a series of articles. Here is the fifth and here is the seventh.

In the course of talking to law enforcement, I think I have an idea of the steps a person should take if they are a victim of Helen’s scam.

First, a report needs to be filed with local law enforcement (where your house is located). Your local police or sheriff can help you put that together. It’s just a statement of what happened and how much money you are out. When filing with them you can tell them there is already an open investigation in Osceola County, Florida. They may refer your report to Osceola County.

Second, you should file a report with law enforcement in the city where Helen was operating. We’ve been sending people to the county sheriff in Osceola County (if Helen gave you a mailing address in Orlando, Kissimmee, Celebration or other Osceola County location), Hillsborough County (Tampa), or Duval County (Jacksonville). Again, if you’re not filing with Osceola, you can mention that there is an open investigation there. The goal is to get the majority of the investigation happening under one roof.

Finally, you’ll need to talk to an attorney about getting clear title to your home and dealing with your tenants. You may have to formally “evict” Helen, even though she’s not living there. You will have to evict the people occupying your house unless you want to enter into a rental agreement with them and allow them to stay. Again, your attorney can help you with that.

Feel free to mention this website to law enforcement. The simplest way to do that is to use www.fsboscam.com. That site is essentially a “wrapper” around this one and brings everything related to Helen’s scam in one place. I am also happy to talk personally to law enforcement if there’s any information I can provide. I can provide my phone number and other contact info to you. Contact me through the comments here. When you post a comment it does not get uploaded to the website — it gets sent to me by email. I will respond by email and will not post your comments here if you do not wish them to be posted.

The information below was published here at request of the Osceola County Sheriff. You can use it as a guideline for reporting to other law enforcement agencies.

These reports do not need to come to me. However, I’m interested in details like phone numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses, and other specific contact points you may have had with Helen. I’m also interested in the alias she was using and which of her fake companies she claimed to be representing. Having this information allows us to connect her aliases to each other and back to Helen Joanne Pearce. But again, I’m only an interested third party. It’s up to you how much of your private information you want to disclose to me.

If you need help preparing this statement or would like someone to review what you’ve prepared to send to the sheriff, I’d be happy to help. Contact me through the comments.

This link will take you to a PDF of the instructions for completing a statement: Out of County Reports Osceola Florida

Here are the instructions in case you have trouble viewing the PDF:

OSCEOLA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

2601 East Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy.

Kissimmee,FL34744

Out of County Victim Report Process

Crimes that occurred in Osceola County may be reported via email, fax or mail for victims who do not live in Osceola County, Florida. No matter which procedure is used to initially file the report, an original, sworn notarized statement must be received before criminal charges can be filed. Please include the below listed information in the statement. After the statement is received, the victim will be contacted with an incident number and further contact information.

• Date of Statement
• Victim name, age, date of birth, race and sex
• Complete home and business addresses
• Contact telephone number(s)
• Contact email, if available
• Driver license state and number
• Complete chronological details of the incident. If credit card or bank accounts are involved, include the bank name, address and account number.
• Total amount of monetary loss, if any.
• A statement as to whether the victim is willing or not willing to testify in court
• A statement as to whether the victim does or does not desire to pursue criminal prosecution

Email Reporting. Send all information to sofraud@osceola.org

• Include the above listed statement information in the body of the email or as a Word or PDF attachment and email to sofraud@osceola.org.
• Print the statement and have it notarized.
• Mail the signed, notarized statement to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Economic Crimes Unit, 2601 East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida 34744

Fax Reporting. Fax all information to 321-697-4319

• Complete a statement with the above information and fax to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Economic Crimes Unit.
• Mail the statement after it has been signed and notarized to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Economic Crimes Unit, 2601 East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida 34744

US Mail Reporting.

• Complete a statement with the above information and mail to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit after it has been signed and notarized.
• Mail to: Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Economic Crimes Unit, 2601 East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, Florida 34744