A 31-year-old Miami woman is facing a stack of felony charges after Martin County deputies say she posed as a bank representative to swindle an elderly victim, then tried to smuggle $3,200 in cash into jail hidden on her body. Moniquie Love Turnbull was taken into custody during a traffic stop after the intended victim grew suspicious and called law enforcement, allowing deputies to track down her vehicle before she could leave the area.
According to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Turnbull visited a senior citizen's home and told the victim that their bank account had been compromised, offering to help resolve the supposed problem. Turnbull allegedly claimed she was from the victim's bank and said she would personally handle disposal of the victim's bank card, according to the sheriff's office. As reported by NBC 6 South Florida, that alleged setup is a classic version of the bank imposter scam that has been showing up repeatedly across Florida this year.
Deputies say the case took a strange turn once Turnbull reached the jail. The sheriff's office said she had $3,200 in cash lodged in her body when she entered the facility, and that the money has since been accounted for and sealed into evidence. Investigators have not yet determined which victim or bank account the hidden cash came from, leaving open the possibility that Turnbull made contact with more than one target before her arrest.
Charges Stack Up Under Florida's Elder Fraud Law
Turnbull was arrested on charges including scheme to defraud and fraudulent use of a credit or debit card without consent involving a victim 60 years or older, per the Martin County Sheriff's Office. She also faces an added charge for introduction of contraband into a corrections facility over the hidden cash, along with felony use of a two-way communication device tied to allegedly coordinating the scheme by phone, according to WQCS. Under Florida Statute Section 951.22, bringing unauthorized currency into a county detention facility is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, notably less severe than the third-degree felony reserved for smuggling drugs or weapons, per Leppard Law.
The fraud counts against Turnbull carry their own enhanced weight because of the victim's age. Florida House Bill 1171, enacted in 2024, revised Florida Statute Section 817.034 to add stiffer criminal penalties specifically for scheme-to-defraud offenses committed against victims 65 or older, according to the Florida Senate. Turnbull is currently held on a $500,000 bond, and deputies say they have also learned of another case in which she was identified as a possible suspect, according to officials. It remains unknown whether Turnbull was working alone or as a courier for a larger fraud operation.
Part of a Wider Pattern Hitting Florida Seniors
Turnbull's arrest lands just days after a Martin County Sheriff's Office deputy intercepted a separate courier-style scam in which a local senior was targeted for $600,000 in gold bars, a case Hoodline previously reported. Federal advisories warn that organized scam syndicates increasingly rely on physical couriers or runners to show up at victims' doors and collect cash, debit cards, or gold after remote callers convince seniors their accounts have been compromised. Florida ranks second nationwide in total elder fraud complaints, and the FBI's Miami Field Office logged more than $293 million in senior fraud losses statewide in 2023 alone.
The problem has only grown since then. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data shows nationwide elder fraud losses jumped 59% in 2025, reaching $7.7 billion across more than 201,000 reported complaints. Turnbull's case is the latest in a string of similar Florida arrests this year, including a Jacksonville man accused of posing as a U.S. Marshal in a $300,000 Tamarac gold scheme and a St. Cloud man arrested in a separate in-person cash collection scam targeting an elderly woman.
Investigators continue to caution that all charges against Turnbull remain allegations pending judicial resolution. Florida seniors or family members who suspect financial exploitation can report it directly to the U.S. Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or the Florida Attorney General's Fraud Hotline at 1-866-966-7226.
