Jamaican man arrested for attempting to steal money from elderly woman

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said they have arrested a Jamaican man on charges of Grand Theft and Exploitation of the Elderly, according to a Facebook post.

On Feb. 03, the BCSO Financial Crimes Unit received a report of suspicious activity by Richard Morgan, 35, who is in Bay County illegally from Jamaica. Officials said Morgan had opened an account and tried to deposit a $24,000 check written by someone else to his new account. When bank employees tried to get further details about the check, Morgan gave vague excuses to the teller and fled when law enforcement arrived.

Investigators said they contacted the owner of the check and learned she was a 92-year-old woman, and she had no memory of writing the check. Speaking with the victim’s family, investigators learned that she had been contacted by an unknown man who directed her to pay a large amount of cash to increase her chance of winning one million dollars from the Publisher’s Clearing House.

Officials said further investigations revealed that the suspect, Richard Morgan, was hiding out at an address in Callaway to avoid apprehension. On Feb. 09, Morgan was located, taken into custody without incident, and booked into the Bay County Jail on charges of Grand Theft and Exploitation of the Elderly

The investigation revealed Morgan had already obtained approximately $30,000 from the victim and sent those funds to another individual in Jamaica. Investigators said they know Morgan is in Bay County illegally from Jamaica, and using the proceeds of this criminal enterprise to fund his stay in the United States.