A South Florida coroner’s office investigator has been arrested on suspicion of stealing the debit card information of at least one deceased county resident, according to court records.
Darrell Reed, 38, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested on Jan. 19 and charged with three counts of fraudulent use of a deceased person’s personal identifying information and one count of fraudulent use of a debit card, according to arrest records. .
During the investigation, Reed allegedly stole the deceased’s debit card information and sent $450 to his girlfriend via Cash App. Police believe there may be other victims.
Authorities first became aware of Reed’s alleged conspiracy when the daughter of a deceased Broward County man stole her late father’s Bank of America debit card, according to arrest warrants and affidavits obtained by Fox 35. That’s when he noticed three suspicious charges and called the police. .
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Former Florida coroner Darrell Reed is accused of stealing debit card information from deceased residents. (Coral Springs Police Department)
The deceased man’s daughter wanted to file criminal charges, claiming no one had permission to use her father’s debit card after his death.
Police said the transactions appeared on bank statements as three separate Cash App payments of $150 each to a woman named Shanika Wright.
Reed allegedly added a Bank of America debit card to his Cash App account on October 21, 2023, less than two hours after leaving the scene. He allegedly used his Bank of America debit card three times to transfer $150 to Shanika Wright, which he removed from his account on October 24, 2023.
A Florida coroner’s investigator has been accused of uploading a deceased person’s debit card information to the Cash app and sending money to his girlfriend. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Investigators also discovered other transactions related to people who died in Broward County last year. One was on October 30th and the other on November 6th.
According to the affidavit, information police received from Cash App revealed that from the time the account was created in 2020 through November 8, 2023, 27 accounts were purchased, including 25 debit or credit cards and two Cash App cards. It was revealed that separate payment sources had been added to Reed’s account. .
Police also linked Reed’s CashApp account to the credit card of a man who died in New York City in December 2022, the Sun Sentinel reported. According to an arrest affidavit, Reed was an investigator with the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office at the time.
“The foregoing facts of this investigation indicate that Darrell Reed engaged in a pattern of repeated thefts of debit and credit card numbers, and that there is sufficient evidence from death scenes and incidents he was assigned to investigate that we believe he committed the crimes listed. for a reason,” police told FOX 35.
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Darrell Fernando Reed, 38, of Pembroke Pines, was arrested Jan. 19 and charged with three counts of criminal use of a deceased person’s identification card and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card, according to Broward County online court records. was indicted for the crime. (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson)
Officials said the investigation into these account holders is ongoing and several subpoenas have been served on multiple banks.
Coral Springs Police Department believes there may be other victims. Anyone with information related to the investigation, or who suspects their deceased loved one may have been a victim, is encouraged to contact Sgt. Brian Koenig (Bkoenig@coralsprings.gov).
Online court records show Reed posted bail, but a trial date has not yet been set.
