Fulton County Jail extortion schemes: Another inmate comes forward

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Another relative of a Fulton County inmate describes sending cash to the jail in order to try to prevent their loved one from getting attacked.

It is one more example of a reported extortion scheme carried out by violent inmates who may be gang members.

The latest case brought to FOX 5 is from a grandmother. But this relative also happens to be a veteran police officer.

"I knew he sounded different, something was wrong," the grandmother told FOX 5 when she first agreed to start sending sums of money to the jail.

Inside the facility, there is a commissary or inmate store. Each inmate is provided an account and can accrue "money on the books." They are able to purchase items, including food over and above what is available on the jail menu.

The grandmother told FOX 5 her grandson requested some of the funds go to an account that is not his.

She worried her grandson was "being extorted."

"I could hear someone in the background telling him to get the (expletive) money," the grandmother recounted.

Fearing for her loved one's safety, she made three payments totaling $200.

She said the requests kept coming but recently she cut off the cash app pipeline.

This week, early Wednesday morning, her grandson told family members violent inmates beat him severely.

A spokesperson for Sheriff Pat Labat gathered information about the latest report of an assault inside the jail.

Labat told FOX 5 in a statement that he "will not tolerate bullying" of any kind.