Man accused of $180K fraud scheme targeting credit union member, Pines police say
A Miami man was arrested and charged with fraud after investigators say he stole tens of thousands of dollars from a member at a Pembroke Pines credit union. .
Pembroke Pines police say Jonathan Wilcher, 40, called the victim on July 8 while posing as a Navy Federal Credit Union employee, according to his arrest report.
Wilcher told the man his credit card had been hacked, leading the victim to provide “all of his account information” before realizing $180,000 had been withdrawn from the account, cops said.
The credit union member later told officers he neither consented to the transaction nor authorized a check to be written to Checkman Store, LLC, Wilcher’s company, investigators said. Florida business records show the state dissolved Checkman Store in 2023 for failing to submit a required annual report.
The next day, Wilcher deposited the check into his account at Navy Federal’s Pembroke Pines location — 15759 Pines Blvd. — and successfully requested $40,000 in cash and $40,000 as a cashier’s check, records show.
He was identified by Navy Federal staff on July 10, when he returned to the credit union to cash the cashier’s check and was arrested around 3 p.m., Wilcher’s arrest report says.
Police say they also used surveillance footage from the credit union to pin the alleged fraudster.
Wilcher was booked into Broward Main Jail on three felony charges:
- first-degree grand theft over $100,000
- second-degree grand theft between $20,000 and $100,000
- fraudulent misrepresentation
Jail records show he was no longer in custody as of July 14.
