Charlotte Man Faked Mooresville Kidnapping To Extort Ransom: MPD

MOORESVILLE, NC — A Charlotte man who recently told a relative they had been kidnapped and needed ransom money ended up behind bars and confronted with paying a $50,000 secured bond instead after Mooresville police said he made the whole thing up.

Joseph Dickerson, 40, of Charlotte was arrested and charged after police said he faked a kidnapping in order to extort ransom money from a relative.

According to the Mooresville Police Department, the kidnapping was reported July 29.

"Upon investigation, Mooresville detectives, along with officers from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Violent Crime Apprehension Team and Homicide units, located Dickerson and determined he fabricated the kidnapping to extort money from a relative," MPD said Thursday.

Dickerson was arrested and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center, MPD said.

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