FL Man, 81, Charged In $600K Fraud Scheme Also Scammed: Reports

PORT ORANGE, FL — An elderly Florida man is facing charges after authorities said he played a role in a series of scams dating back to 2021 that victimized people in several states, according to multiple reports.

Bobby Crosby, 81, of Port Orange, was arrested Thursday after the Port Orange Police Department received reports from other law enforcement agencies regarding victims of scams in Massachusetts, California, and Michigan, according to a WFLA report citing an arrest affidavit.

During their investigation, police discovered that spammers persuaded victims to send money or gift cards after scammers by pretending to be family members or claiming the victims owed money, WFLA reported.

Police tracked the shipments to Crosby's home in 2021, according to reports, and when Crosby was interviewed by police, he admitted to receiving tens of thousands of dollars in cash, checks, money orders, gift cards, electronics, and other items. He forwarded most of the money to Bitcoin accounts provided by the woman, WFLA reported, but was allowed to keep "a modest fee," according to police.

Crosby was not arrested at the time, reports said.

A report from April 2022 showed that Crosby was likely also scammed by online Bitcoin "investors" who persuaded him to send them as much as $285,000 over two years, according to a WKMG report.

Port Orange police interviewed Crosby again in October 2022 after authorities in Texas contacted them about a victim who sent $6,700 to Crosby’s home after being falsely told she would win a big prize, according to WKMG. Crosby admitted to receiving the money but told police he was still forwarding most of it to someone else.

According to WKMG, Crosby said he was forwarding the money to someone he met on a dating website.

In the months that followed, authorities discovered Crosby was actually sending money to people in Nigeria, WKMG reported. Investigators said Crosby transferred more than $634,000 between June 2020 and December 2022.

Crosby faces a charge of organized scheme to defraud and is being held on $50,000 bond.