The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced this week that an Orlando man has been arrested in connection to a massive fraud scheme against an elderly Palm Coast woman. 20-year-old Steven Mercado is accused of scamming the victim out of $120,000. The ensuing investigation led to charges in three different counties across two states.
An investigation into the alleged fraud began late last year. On December 9, the FCSO says the victim received a notification on her computer instructing her to get in contact with a support phone number. The number, which was fake, put her in touch with the scammer.
Executing a $120,000 Scam
Once the two were connected, the victim was reportedly told to withdraw around $60,000 in cash from her Chase bank account. She was then told to deliver it to a courier in a Publix parking lot. According to the FCSO, this courier was Mercado.
The two met in the parking lot, and Mercado is said to have provided the victim with a safe word so she’d trust him with the exchange. She then handed over the $60,000. As bad as it would’ve been if that was the end of the scam, it wasn’t.
The following day, the victim was called again by her scammer, telling her that her bank account had been breached once again. She was told to withdraw another $60,000 in cash and meet a courier at Palm Coast’s Walmart parking lot. The FCSO says that it was once again Mercado who met her there and took her money.
On December 11, the victim was reportedly contacted for the third straight day for money. The victim at this point contacted the FCSO, having become suspicious of the situation. Detectives identified Mercado as the suspect with assistance from the FCSO Real Time Crime Center.
Investigating & Arresting Steven Mercado
Additional surveillance footage at the Publix and Walmart stores where the deliveries occurred further implicated Mercado, the FCSO says, as did the location data on his cell phone. Mercado’s bank records were investigated by detectives. There were reportedly ‘suspicious transactions’ that included large deposits and withdrawals.
FCSO’s General Assignment Unit detectives obtained a warrant for Mercado’s arrest, with him having been charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. Mercado was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office during a traffic stop on Friday, March 6. In Orange County, he was also charged with possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and marijuana possession over 20 grams. Mercado posted his $23,500 bond after being booked.
The Bigger Picture
According to the FCSO, this elderly Palm Coast victim may not have been Mercado’s only target to date. Detectives reportedly identified other suspicious transactions that could identify others who’ve been hit. One person in Durham, North Carolina was apparently scammed out of $37,463,15, the FCSO says. The Durham Police Department has been notified of this information, and he’s been charged in that jurisdiction with obtaining property by false pretenses.
“This scammer had no shame, swindling over $100,000 from a senior but his luck ran out when he did it in Flagler County,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “In Flagler County, we have the best of the best detectives to hunt down scammers who prey on our seniors. I’m disappointed that he was given such a low bond on our charges and that he wasn’t held in jail by Orange County, especially after being found with a gun. Unfortunately, because he is out of jail, he is likely scamming more seniors. Dirtbags like this never learn until they are locked-up for a long time.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
