2 arrested in $20K fraud scheme targeting Florida jail

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A man and a woman are accused of orchestrating a large-scale fraud scheme involving dozens of victims and thousands of dollars in losses.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) announced on Thursday that early this year, Community Service Officers responded to a fraud report on Woodridge Circle. The victim reported unauthorized transactions, which detectives later discovered were linked to inmate accounts at the Lee County Jail. The case was assigned to the Economic Crimes Unit, who uncovered a far-reaching scam.

For several months, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) said that Veronica Reyes and Darnell Morgan were the primary suspects. Morgan, currently an inmate at the jail, allegedly conspired with Reyes to funnel stolen funds into inmate accounts. Detectives revealed that Reyes accessed victims’ credit card information through her former workplace, then used the data to create profiles on Oasis Management, a platform for inmate deposits.

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The scheme extended far beyond the initial victim, according to the news release. Investigators discovered 20 additional victims, and a search warrant executed at Reyes’ residence on November 11 uncovered more than 1,600 Post-it notes containing sensitive personal and financial information. Authorities estimate that Reyes copied approximately 200 credit card numbers, placing nearly $20,000 in fraudulent orders over five months.

Reyes now faces a staggering list of criminal counts, including:

• Grand Theft ($5,000–$10,000)
• Scheme to Defraud
• 30 Counts of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card Over $100
• 30 Counts of Use of Another Person’s Identification
• Possession of Personal Identification

Morgan faces one count of scheme to defraud, according to LCSO.

This case serves as a stark reminder: even behind bars, crime doesn’t stop.

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