Three men arrested in February fraud case

Three more suspects have been arrested in connection with February fraud cases in which forged checks were cashed at several banks in the Florida Keys.  A Fort Lauderdale woman was the first suspect in the case, arrested in February as she was cashing a forged check.

Detectives say a group of Miami-Dade and Broward County residents traveled throughout the Keys in early February, stopping at a number of Centennial Banks in the Lower, Middle and Upper Keys. In one case, they are accused of cashing six forged checks at the banks for a total of $41,924.23. The business name on the checks they cashed was Azure Delray Modern Intercostal, LLC. The account number and other information on the checks, however, belonged to a legitimate business, Azure Delray Modern Intracoastal, LLC. When they cashed the forged checks, they presented their own identification documents. Once the fraud was uncovered, these identifying documents were turned over to detectives.

When officials of the bank realized what was taking place, they called the Sheriff’s Office. They also put their other banks on alert to be on the lookout for similar schemes. On February 6^th, 24 year old Rose Marie Normann of Fort Lauderdale attempted to cash a similar forged check, with a different business name, at the Centennial Bank at the 100.2 mile marker. The bank manager recognized the fraud and called the Sheriff’s Office. Normann was placed under arrest and booked into jail for uttering a forged instrument and criminal use of personal identification. Her bond was set at $40,000 and she bonded out of jail on February 9^th. Two men with her at the time were identified and released pending further investigation. One of them was identified as 24 year old Armondo Mejide Mir of Miami.

After further investigation, warrants were issued for three more suspects. Mejide Mir, who is charged with two counts of grand theft and two counts of passing forged checks. He was arrested in Miami Dade County on April 29^th and transferred to Monroe County Wednesday. His bond is set at $75,000.  A second suspect, 51 year old Nelson De Leon of Homestead, was arrested on March 13^th. He bonded out of jail in Miami on charges of grand theft and forgery. Bond on the warrant was $40,000. The third male suspect, 24 year old Eduardo Morejon of Miami, was arrested April 7^th and is still in custody in the Miami-Dade County jail for two counts each of grand theft and forgery; his bond is set at $65,000.