Scam uncovered involving luxury cars and a credit union.
A homeless Florida man who allegedly ran a $1.3 million multi-state car rental and credit union fraud scheme is scheduled to be arraigned on 12 bank fraud felonies in Duval County Circuit Court on Sept 6.
George Christopher Jackson, 35, allegedly recruited and paid numerous individuals up to $1,200 to open an account at the $7.7 billion VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville. He then instructed them to obtain the credit union's credit card and use it to rent luxury vehicles such as Maserati, Porsche, Jaguar, Cadillac, Land Rover and Mercedes.
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Most of the cars were rented from rental companies at the Orlando and Jacksonville International Airports. The individuals who rented the cars said they handed them over to Jackson at a location near the airports. In other cases, the individuals drove the cars to Atlanta, Ga. for selling or leasing them, Jacksonville Sheriff investigators said in an affidavit.
Some cars that were recovered had been damaged, but many cars were never returned to the rental agencies.
According to court documents, Vystar CU reported fraud losses of more than $58,000. However, Vystar said in a statement Thursday that it expects to recover $57,000 through normal channels used in fraudulent credit card transaction recovery.
The North Florida Financial Crimes Task Force had been investigating Jackson since April. However, Jacksonville Sheriff investigators said in court documents they did not learn of Jackson's activities until June from Vystar CU, car rental companies and other law enforcement authorities throughout Florida and Georgia.
Jackson also faces additional felony charges of grand theft and schemes to defraud, according to court documents. He was arrested Aug. 9 and is being held in a Jacksonville jail without bond pending the court hearing.
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
