A Springfield man says he was tricked out of his money by a scammer using AI to impersonate country star Jelly Roll.
Ronnie Flint told 2 NEWS he couldn’t believe how real the whole thing looked, and now he’s speaking out to warn others before they get caught in the same trap.
Flint said it started when he got a Facebook message claiming he had won $50,000 and a new car. The account even sent him a video that appeared to feature Jelly Roll telling him to cover shipping fees for the prizes.
At first, he was doubtful—especially after the scammers sent over what they said was Jelly Roll’s driver’s license. But then came a second video that completely threw him off.
“I really thought it was Jelly Roll,” Flint admitted. “When they sent the second video where he actually said my full name, that got me. I was like, wow, it really is Jelly Roll. He said my name.”
Convinced it was legit, Flint sent $70 in Apple gift cards—even though he’s on disability and explained to the scammers that it was all the money he had for the month.
A family member eventually clued him in that it was a scam, and Flint went to the police. Still, the fake account kept harassing him, demanding more cash.
“They’re thinking I’m going to send them another $30 on the 3rd, which ain’t going to happen,” he told 2 NEWS. “That’s why I called you guys, because I want to put it out there because maybe somebody else already fell for it. I don’t want them to fall for it the way I did.”
