A man who authorities say is a member of the “Any Body Killer” or “ABK” criminal gang in Miami has been arrested for scamming a Florida Keys man out of nearly $20,000, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheldon Adams Vandyke, 26, was arrested at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after returning from Belize on a warrant issued by the sheriff’s department and now faces a felony charge of scheming to defraud a person over 65, the sheriff’s office said.
“This is a great example of law enforcement partners working together to solve a difficult case,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. “I want to thank our Criminal Investigations Unit for taking the lead and providing justice for the victim.”
The outcome stems from an investigation that was launched in October after an 84-year-old Lower Keys man told the sheriff’s office that he received a phone call from someone claiming to work for Bank of America.
That man, who authorities identified as Vandyke, told the unnamed victim that there was an issue with his bank account. The victim then provided his personal information, which led to the loss of about $19,800, the sheriff’s office said.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit began to work with multiple banking fraud departments to identify Vandyke as the suspect.
Some security video evidence showed Vandyke accessing ATMs in Miami attempting to withdraw money from an account(s) that he set up with the stolen money, the sheriff’s office said.
Vandyke, who the Miami Police Department Gangs Intelligence Unit said is a known criminal gang member with no known legitimate source of income, is currently being held on $75,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities are now working with banking officials to recover the victim’s stolen money.
