01-05-2025
Florida man takes more than $800K from 92-year-old man in romance scheme: deputies
SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. (WFLA)— A man was arrested after taking more than $800,000 from a 92-year-old man in a bank and a romance scheme, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced.
In June 2022, the victim from Sun City Center transferred thousands from his Fidelity account to his Wells Fargo account, where the money was depleted to multiple people.
The money was depleted through Uphold, a cryptocurrency platform, peer-to-peer transactions, ATM withdrawals, point-of-sale transactions, and various other ways, deputies said.
On March 10, 2025, Otiz Swinton Jr., 37, was seen on camera at a Publix in Orlando using the victim's Wells Fargo card to make a purchase.
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Deputies said from March 13 to April 2, five counterfeit checks were made payable to Swinton Jr. from the Wells Fargo account. The total amount of the five checks was $14,300.00.
Other charges were made using the card during that time and totaled more than $5,000.00.
Swinton Jr. was previously in Florida State Prison for fraud, HCSO said.
During an investigation, detectives determined that Swinton Jr. had someone withdraw money from the victim's account while he was in prison.
'These predatory schemes rob our residents of the security and financial stability they've spent their lives building,' said Sheriff Chad Chronister. 'Those who deliberately prey on the elderly are the worst kinds of criminals as they exploit vulnerability, trust, and often isolation for personal gain. We will continue to pursue anyone who targets our seniors with every resource at our disposal.'
Swinton Jr. was arrested on April 30 in Orlando and has been charged with fraudulent use of personal information of an elderly person, fraudulent use of personal information over $5,000 or 10 but less than 20 victims, and fraudulent use of a credit card over $100.00, and five counts of uttering a forged instrument.
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