Scammers are sending fake invoices to Sycamore Township zoning applicants, using the Township's official name and logo to trick residents into wiring money to a bank in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Sycamore Township posted the warning on its Board of Zoning Appeals and Zoning Commission pages. The fraudulent invoices list what appear to be legitimate zoning fees and instruct recipients to pay via ACH transfer to an offshore account.
The Township has not disclosed how many applicants received the fraudulent invoices or whether anyone lost money.
Who is targeted
The scam appears aimed at residents and property owners who have filed applications with either the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Zoning Commission. Both boards handle land-use cases including variances, conditional uses, zone changes, and planned unit developments. Applicants start the process through the Township's online Cloudpermit portal. The Township has not addressed how scammers may be identifying active applicants.
How to spot the scam
The Township says the key red flag is the payment method. Legitimate Township fees are never collected through ACH transfers to banks outside Ohio. Any invoice directing payment to a financial institution in the Virgin Islands is fraudulent.
Residents who receive a suspicious invoice should call Township staff at 513-792-7250 (Board of Zoning Appeals) or 513-792-7252 (Zoning Commission) to verify whether a bill is real.
Broader scam environment
The zoning invoice fraud is not the first impersonation scam to target Sycamore Township residents this year. In the Spring 2026 edition of the Sycamore Quarterly newsletter, Lt. Brian C. Sovern, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office District 3 commander who oversees patrols in the township, warned about phone callers using his name to demand payment for alleged missed jury duty.
"The Sheriff's Office will never call you and tell you to send money in any form," Lt. Sovern wrote in the spring newsletter. "If you must pay a fine, this money is paid to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts; no officer will ever personally collect money from an individual."
What to do if you're contacted
Residents who believe they have received a fraudulent invoice or scam call can take these steps:
- Call Sycamore Township staff at 513-792-7250 to verify any zoning-related invoice.
- Contact Hamilton County Sheriff's Office non-emergency dispatch at 513-825-2280 to report a scam attempt.
- Do not send money via ACH, pay apps, gift cards, or electronic transfers to any party claiming to be a government office.
Residents can raise concerns at the Board of Zoning Appeals' next meeting, held the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at 8540 Kenwood Road.
