A 20-year-old Bronx man is sitting in the St. Lucie County Jail after Canadian border agents apprehended him while he attempted to enter Canada, in a fraud investigation that started with a single stolen check mailed from a Port St. Lucie real estate company. Gibrill Bah Diallo now faces charges of money laundering between $300 and $20,000, organized fraud under $20,000, and third-degree grand theft.
According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, the case began when a check mailed out by the real estate company was stolen, altered and deposited into a bank account using a stolen identity. From there, investigators say, the money didn't stay put.
Detectives Chase the Money Through Zelle Transfers
Detectives tracked the stolen funds as they moved through multiple bank accounts and Zelle transfers, per the sheriff's office, eventually tracing the trail back to a personal bank account they say belonged to Diallo. That financial paper chase is what turned a mailed check into a multi-jurisdictional fraud investigation involving Florida and New York.
The investigation's breakthrough came far from Port St. Lucie. On Oct. 14, Diallo was apprehended by Canadian border authorities as he attempted to cross from the United States into Canada, the sheriff's office said. He was then held at the Niagara County Jail in New York before being extradited to St. Lucie County on Oct. 21, closing a loop that stretched from the Treasure Coast to the U.S.-Canada border.
Sheriff Credits Economic Crimes Unit
Sheriff Richard Del Toro framed the arrest as a win for persistence over distance, saying detectives followed the money, uncovered a complex financial scheme and pursued every lead until the suspect was returned to St. Lucie County. He added that the case reflected the determination of the department's economic crimes unit and that residents and businesses deserved accountability, according to the same report.
Diallo was booked at the St. Lucie County Jail on Oct. 21 on a $30,000 bond, the sheriff's office said. The organized fraud charge is under Florida's Chapter 817, Section 034.
What Florida's Grand Theft Charge Requires
Diallo's grand theft charge is under Chapter 812, Section 014 of the Florida Statutes. Residents can visit the St. Lucie County Clerk of Court's Case Search.
