A phone call from people posing as bank employees ended with a stranger driving into a Florida woman’s garage and leaving with approximately $1.5 million in jewelry and precious metals from her safe, according to police.
Treasure Island investigators say the scammers first convinced the older resident that her bank accounts and credit cards had been compromised. She wired approximately $280,000 before a bank employee recognized a second attempted transfer as suspicious and stopped it.
Police say the callers then changed tactics. They warned the woman that employees at her own bank could come to her home armed and steal her valuables, then offered a supposed way to protect them.
The six-month investigation has resulted in the arrests of James Arthur Graves Graham Jr., 24, and Alnesha Bianca Handy, 35, while authorities continue trying to identify other participants and locate missing property, according to National Jeweler.
The Callers Posed as Chase and Bank of America Employees
Treasure Island police responded to the woman’s home on Feb. 10 after a report involving fraud, grand theft and burglary. Police Chief John Barkley said the callers claimed to represent Chase and Bank of America. When an actual bank employee stopped another large wire transfer, the people on the phone did not end the conversation.
FOX 13 reported that the callers instead convinced the woman that employees at her own bank were involved in the supposed criminal activity. Police say the woman remained on the phone for more than four and a half hours as the callers used fear and urgency to keep her following instructions. She eventually told them that her valuables were stored in a safe in her garage.
The callers instructed the woman to open the safe and garage door and then go back inside the house so she would not see the person supposedly coming to secure her valuables. Police say a vehicle entered the garage and the door was closed. The person inside emptied the safe and drove away with approximately $1.5 million in jewelry and precious metals.
License Plate Cameras and Fingerprints Led Police to Graham
Neighborhood surveillance and Treasure Island’s Flock license plate reader system helped investigators narrow a description of the vehicle to a specific truck.
Police identified Graham as the person they believe went to the residence. He reported the vehicle stolen the following day, and investigators later recovered it in the Fort Lauderdale area.
Authorities said surveillance footage and latent fingerprints provided additional evidence. Treasure Island detectives then worked with Tampa police to search Graham’s apartment, where investigators say they found clothing consistent with what the person at the victim’s home had been wearing. Graham was arrested on one count of first-degree grand theft and one count of second-degree burglary.
The Wire Transfer Led Investigators to Georgia
Detectives and investigators with the Sixth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office spent months following financial records and leads through Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Georgia, California and Texas. Investigators eventually traced part of the victim’s wire transfer to a Georgia account they say belonged to Handy.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that the account, held under the name Handy Helping Hands LLC, contained $114,000 from the original transfer when investigators traced it.
Treasure Island investigators traveled to Georgia and interviewed Handy before the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office arrested her. Police said she faces a grand theft charge.
Police Recovered More Than 83% of the Wire Money
Investigators recovered more than 83% of the approximately $280,000 transferred electronically and returned it to the victim. Barkley described that level of recovery as highly unusual because fraud proceeds are often moved rapidly through multiple accounts and can become difficult to trace. Authorities believe the case may involve a larger fraud network, and additional arrests remain possible.
A Bank Will Not Send Someone to Your Home to Protect Your Valuables
An unexpected caller claiming a bank account has been compromised should be independently verified before any money or property is moved. Treasure Island police advise customers to hang up and call their financial institution using a trusted number, such as the one printed on the back of a bank card.
Banks will not instruct customers to hand jewelry, cash, gold or other valuables to a courier for safekeeping. They also will not require customers to move money to another account simply to protect it from fraud.
If someone claims a courier or representative is already on the way to a home, do not open the door or surrender property. Contact local law enforcement and the financial institution independently.
Anyone who has already sent a wire should notify the originating bank immediately and ask whether the transfer can be recalled or frozen. Acting quickly matters because stolen funds can move through additional accounts within hours.