BUNNELL, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced that they arrested one man and a second turned himself in following an investigation regarding a phone scam targeting a Flagler Beach senior’s bank information.
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On June 5, Flagler County authorities responded to a call in Flagler Beach after an elderly man reported he had been scammed.
A man claiming to be from Spectrum’s fraud department called and said the elderly man’s account had been hacked before connecting him to a second person claiming to be from the elderly man’s bank. The second man then convinced the victim to put his debit card in an envelope in his mailbox for it to be collected, thereby “resecuring his account.”
The elderly man did as the callers asked and later discovered $3,500 in fraudulent charges and ATM withdrawals on his account. The charges and withdrawals had taken place in Palm Coast and St. Augustine.
Investigators traced the withdrawals to Mardochee Malvoisin, 36, of Palm Coast. Malvoisin was already in custody at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on unrelated charges.
Arrest warrants for Malvoisin and Destin include charges of criminal use of personal identification information, grand theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card two or more times in six months.
The Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center later identified another vehicle, this one driven by Malvoisin’s accomplice. The accomplice was soon identified as Emile Destin Jr., 38, of North Miami Beach.
Malvoisin was arrested at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he remains on a combined $19,500 bond that includes $15,000 for the fraud warrants, and $4,500 for an unrelated case involving driving with a suspended license and drug possession.
On July 13, Destin turned himself in to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and is being held on a $35,000 bond pending extradition to Flagler County.
“These scammers convinced a senior resident to put his debit card in an envelope and place it in his mailbox, and they started draining his account,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “Malvoisin already knows what a bunk at the Green Roof Inn feels like, and soon Destin will, too.”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents that legitimate companies will never ask you to mail or hand over a debit or credit card to “secure” it.
If you receive a similar call, hang up and contact the company directly using the number on your card or account statement. Question anyone who calls asking for your financial information.
Report frauds immediately to the non-emergency line at 386-313-4911.
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