JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–Arrests have been made here in what police are calling an “elaborate” car theft and bank fraud ring that involved a credit union.
According to police, the scheme involved luxury cars and SUVs stolen, then resold or leased in Atlanta. Ten men and two women from Northeast Florida have been arrested, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The first arrested was George Christopher Jackson, a 34-year-old man listed as homeless and the leader of the criminal enterprise following a North Florida Financial Crimes Task Force investigation started in June, according to his and many of the other arrest warrants, the Jacksonville Times-Union reported.
How it Worked
“Jackson recruits individuals in Jacksonville to open bank accounts with VyStar Credit Unions,” then get savings and secured Visa cards that act as a line of credit backed by the credit union, according to the warrant. The suspects would “rent luxury automobiles using the SSV cards knowing that these vehicles will not be returned to the rental agency and transport said vehicles to Atlanta for the purpose of selling or leasing,” the warrant added.
The warrant alleges that Jackson’s activities were learned from law enforcement agencies and fraud investigators from banks and car rental companies through multiple jurisdictions in Florida and Georgia.
Spending Spree
“The suspects named in the warrant went on a spree through July, renting everything from a Range Rover Sport valued at $56,000 from a rental agency at West Palm Beach International Airport to a Maserati Levante costing almost $68,000 from another agency at Orlando’s airport,” authorities stated. “At least nine luxury SUVs and sports cars were rented in May and June alone, with most not returned.”
According to the report, the Times-Union said one of the suspects obtained a VyStar Credit Union SSV card July 3 in Jacksonville, using $1,200 in cash, and then used it to rent a 2018 Land Rover at Hartsfield/Atlanta International Airport. “He also used it July 4 to rent another Land Rover at an airport agency, then July 5 to get a 2018 Cadillac Escalade. According to the rental agency, all three vehicles have not been returned and are valued together at about $205,000.”