4 Charged in Rent Check Theft Scheme

Three Tampa residents and one person from Clearwater face federal charges for their alleged connection to a multi-city rent check theft scheme that is estimated to have netted more than $400,000.

The arrests of Yensy Guevara, 35, of Clearwater and Juan Carlos Miranda Noda, 28, Heysy Puente Lopez, 28, and Lazaro Velazquez, 28, all of Tampa, were announced by Clearwater Police Thursday morning. Police say all four face conspiracy to commit bank fraud charges following a near two-year joint investigation by the Clearwater department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service and its Financial Crimes Task Force.

The thefts occurred during 2013 and included heists at an estimated 15 apartment complexes in Clearwater alone, an email from the police department stated. The four are accused of stealing rent checks from night drop boxes by using a coat hanger-type device with a sticky substance on the end.

See Also:

• Man Bilked Nearly $265k from 91-Year-Old Priest, Deputies Say
• Plant City Girl Struck in Possible Drive-By Shooting

“They would dispose of rent checks and then alter the money orders with their names before cashing them or depositing them in their own accounts,” the email said.

All told, the number of victims is estimated at 300 with a total monetary loss of about $400,000. Outside of Clearwater, the four are accused of targeting apartment complexes in Pensacola, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Bradenton.

“We are glad that our detectives and the Secret Service task force were able to bring charges against those in this organized criminal endeavor,” said Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter. “They cost Clearwater residents and citizens across Florida hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Photos of Guevara (1), Noda (2), Puente-Lopez (3) and Velazquez (4) courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department.

Keep up with what’s happening around town and the state by signing up for your favorite Patch daily newsletter: Bloomingdale-Riverview, Bradenton, Brandon, Carrollwood-Northdale, Clearwater, Dunedin, East Lake, Gulfport, Land O’ Lakes, Largo, Lutz, New Port Richey, New Tampa, Palm Harbor, Pinellas Beaches, Safety Harbor, Sarasota, Seminole Heights, South Tampa-Hyde Park, St. Pete, Tarpon Springs, Temple Terrace, Westchase.