Sheriff: Hope Mills woman scams hundreds in 'work-from-home' scheme

HOPE MILLS, NC -- Hundreds of people are out of money, some thousands of dollars. Authorities said a Cumberland County woman was running a money-collection scam from her home.

"I've had narcotics cases that were this big, but this is my first white collar," Sheriff's Office Detective Mincey said.

It's also one of the largest fraud cases in Sheriff's Office history.

Detectives say Evanda McDonald is behind a massive work-from-home scheme where she worked as a call taker for several big box companies including Amazon, C-spire and StubHub. Her job gave her access to hundreds of thousands of social security numbers, bank accounts and credit cards.

"She says "hey are you going to make a payment or do you wanna upgrade? Then she does a screenshot," Mincey said.

Then authorities said McDonald "steals your identity or treats herself with your money."

The Sheriff's Office said one victim in New York had his card used for pizza. But some people lost more than the price of a pie. When daycare owner Lonnie Coulter went to pay his staff, he noticed he was out $7,000.

"These families come to work every day and expect to get paid at the time that they're supposed to. What would've happened if I didn't have reserves?" Coulter pondered.

Detectives said McDonald bonded out on the first set of charges. ABC11 attempted to speak with her at her home but she didn't come to the door.

With hundreds of victims spanning 11 states - most who haven't been identified - authorities are confident she'll be back behind bars soon, but it won't be easy.

"We are actually to the point of being overwhelmed with white-collar crimes. The sheriff has added or is looking to add another person to this unit so we can try to keep up," said Lt. Sean Swain.

But until then, authorities are asking everyone in the viewing area to check their credit.

"If there's something on there that doesn't look familiar. Look into it. Don't wait until it's too late and your life is a mess," Mincey said.

If you believe you've been scammed, contact your local law enforcement agency.