NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – What began as an investigation into a stolen piece of mail containing a check morphed into a major investigation involving a financial fraud operation in Nassau County.
The investigation began last year and ultimately led to the arrest of Perez Hall Jr., 25, of Belleville, Illinois. Hall is facing charges that include:
- Counterfeiting checks
- Passing forged checks
- Illegal use of other people’s identification
- Money laundering
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the investigation began back in September when a victim of financial fraud reported that a check he wrote for $18,186 and mailed to a car loan company in Pennsylvania had never arrived at its intended destination, although his bank told him the money had been withdrawn from his account eight days after he mailed the check.
The bank identified the depositor as Hall.
During the investigation into the stolen check, the victim soon discovered a second check tied to his bank account had been deposited by someone identified as ‘Arriana Simmons.’ The money from that attempted theft had not been withdrawn from the victim’s bank account.
The detective confirmed that the first check the victim mailed did make it to the USPS Package Distribution Center in Jacksonville. The detective determined the check was stolen while in Jacksonville, while in USPS custody.
According to the warrant affidavit, the deposited check went to a bank account that belonged to Hall. The account listed his Belleview, Illinois, address and along with information on his Illinois license.
Once the detective was able to track down the suspected thief, he was also able to see the number of purchases the thief made after depositing the stolen $18,186.
A search warrant was obtained for Hall’s iCloud account, which, according to the warrant affidavit, led to the discovery of digital files containing forged and blank checks, incomplete checks, and elements to construct completely new checks. Further investigation into the iCloud storage revealed the following:
- Images of various credit cards
- Credit card numbers
- Online banking login credentials
- Identification documents that belong to other victims
- Social security numbers
According to investigators, none of those items belonged to Hall.
When the detective dug deeper into the iCloud account, he said he found written instructions on how to file fraudulent tax returns to receive inflated tax refunds, along with instructions on how to commit loan fraud.
The detective also said he had uncovered pictures of checks that were not issued in Hall’s name, along with screenshots of overdrawn bank accounts that the detective believed were the result of Hall’s actions.
Hall was taken into custody last Monday and remains in the Nassau County jail on a $375,00 bond.