The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has arrested one man and taken a second into custody after an investigation into a phone scam that targeted an elderly Flagler Beach resident’s bank account.
How the Scam Worked
On Friday, June 5, deputies responded to a home on John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach after an elderly man reported he had been scammed. According to the Sheriff’s Office, a caller claiming to be from Spectrum’s fraud department told the man his account had been compromised, then transferred him to a second caller posing as a bank representative. That person instructed him to seal his debit card in an envelope and leave it in his mailbox so it could be collected and his account “secured.”
The man followed the instructions. The envelope was picked up by someone he never saw, and he later discovered $3,500 in fraudulent charges and ATM withdrawals across Palm Coast and St. Augustine.
The Investigation
Detectives traced the fraudulent withdrawals to a vehicle driven by Mardochee Malvoisin, 36, of Palm Coast, who was already in custody at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on unrelated charges. The Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center helped detectives identify a second vehicle, a rental linked to the Miami area, used by an accomplice.
Investigators determined that Emile Destin Jr., 38, of North Miami Beach, recruited Malvoisin to steal the debit card from the victim’s mailbox. Detectives obtained arrest warrants charging both men with criminal use of personal identification information, grand theft, and fraudulent use of a credit card two or more times in six months.
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Malvoisin was arrested at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where he remains held on a combined $19,500 bond. That amount includes $15,000 tied to the fraud warrants and $4,500 from a separate case involving driving with a suspended license, giving a deputy a false name, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Destin turned himself in to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on July 13 on the Flagler County warrant. He is being held there on a $35,000 bond pending extradition to Flagler County.
Sheriff Rick Staly commented on the arrests. “These scammers convinced a senior resident to put his debit card in an envelope and place it in his mailbox, and they started draining his account,” Staly said. “Malvoisin already knows what a bunk at the Green Roof Inn feels like, and soon Destin will, too.”
How to Protect Yourself
The Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents that legitimate companies will never ask someone to mail or hand over a debit or credit card to “secure” it. Anyone who receives a similar call is advised to hang up and contact the company directly using the number on their card or account statement, and to question anyone who calls asking for financial information. Fraud can be reported to the non-emergency line at 386-313-4911.
The Sheriff’s Office also offers a free Scams and Frauds class for residents. Those interested in attending or hosting a class can contact the Community Engagement Unit at communityengagement@flaglersheriff.com.
Two upcoming events focused on scam prevention are also planned. On September 24, the Sheriff’s Office will host a free Summit to Protect and Serve Seniors from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the FCSO Operations Center in Bunnell. On August 15, the agency will hold its annual Safety Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at European Village in Palm Coast.
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