Key West police praise Broward arrest in yearlong fraud investigation

Key West police said a yearlong fraud probe reached Broward County when deputies in Pompano Beach arrested a 21-year-old man accused of turning a $15 check into more than $5,000.

Broward Sheriff's Office deputies took Cortlin Baker, of Pompano Beach, into custody on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, and he was being held Wednesday at the Broward County Main Jail with a Monroe County hold. The Monroe County hold signals that local authorities still have a legal interest in the case even though the arrest happened outside the Keys.

Key West detectives allege Baker changed the value of a check from $15 to more than $5,000 and altered the payee name to his own. He faces charges of grand theft and uttering a forged instrument, and jail records showed bail set at $35,000.

Police Chief Sean Brandenburg publicly praised the Broward deputies for making the arrest, calling it "another fine example of the great partnerships between law enforcement agencies in South Florida." For Key West investigators, the arrest closed a case that began in 2025 and stretched on for about a year as detectives worked through financial records and multiple investigative leads before getting an arrest warrant.

The case shows how a fraud investigation in Monroe County can still depend on help from outside the island chain. Key West police said the trail led from local detectives to Broward County, where deputies located Baker and arrested him without incident. That kind of cooperation can matter in fraud cases, where the suspect, the bank records and the arrest location may all land in different counties.

No local victim, business or agency was named in the available details, but the investigation remained rooted in Key West police work and ended with a Monroe County hold. For residents and businesses that rely on checks, the case is a reminder that a forged instrument case can move far beyond a single island street and still come back to affect the Keys.