Coral Springs man accused in fake bank investigator scam that stole $72,000

A Coral Springs man was accused of posing as a bank investigator in a phone scam that cost a Florida Keys couple $72,000 in cash and jewelry, and he faces Maryland charges. The alleged loss included valuables as well as money, the kind of hit that can drain savings and take family heirlooms in one handoff.

The scheme fit a familiar fraud playbook. The caller claimed to be an authority figure, pushed urgency and used pressure to keep the victims from checking the story before they acted. In this case, the false bank-investigator pitch was enough to get a Florida Keys couple to part with cash and jewelry.

The warning signs were the same ones that surface again and again in South Florida scam cases: a stranger who creates fear, a demand for secrecy and a push to act immediately. Scammers often pretend to be law enforcement, government agents or bank workers, then tell victims to hand over money, ship valuables or meet a courier. Any call that tries to rush a decision about cash, jewelry or account access should be treated as a red flag.

The Coral Springs connection gives the case local weight well beyond the victims’ home in the Keys. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office officials said in a separate scam case that a 20-year-old Coral Springs man falsely claimed to be a bank employee in a phone call and was arrested in Broward County on July 15, 2026. In another Florida Keys fraud case, Dwayne Leveridge, 33, of Coral Springs, was arrested on charges including fraud, larceny, illegal use of credit cards and illegal use of another’s identification after authorities said he stole more than $50,000 from a Cudjoe Key couple.

Taken together, the cases show how a Broward address can sit at the center of a fraud trail that stretches into Monroe County and beyond. The safest response is simple: stop the call, verify the claim through a known bank number or local police, and never turn over cash or jewelry to someone who reached out unexpectedly.