- July 15, 2026
According to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, one man has been arrested and a second suspect has turned himself in following an investigation into a phone scam that targeted a Flagler Beach senior and resulted in thousands of dollars being stolen from his bank account.
The investigation began on June 5 after deputies responded to a home on John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach, where an elderly man reported being scammed. Investigators said the victim received a call from someone claiming to be with Spectrum's fraud department, who told him his account had been compromised. The caller then transferred him to another person posing as a representative from his bank.
The victim was instructed to seal his debit card in an envelope and leave it in his mailbox so it could be collected and his account "secured." He followed those instructions, and someone he never saw retrieved the envelope. Investigators said the man later discovered $3,500 in fraudulent purchases and ATM withdrawals in Palm Coast and St. Augustine.
Detectives traced the fraudulent withdrawals to a vehicle driven by Mardochee Malvoisin, 36, of Palm Coast, who was already being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on unrelated charges. The Sheriff's Office Real Time Crime Center also helped investigators identify a second vehicle — a rental connected to the Miami area — that was allegedly used by an accomplice. Detectives later identified Emile Destin Jr., 38, of North Miami Beach, and said he recruited Malvoisin to retrieve the victim's debit card from the 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 within six months.
Malvoisin was served with the warrants while already in custody and remains jailed on a combined bond of $19,500, including $15,000 on the fraud charges and $4,500 on unrelated charges of 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 and is being held on a $35,000 bond while awaiting extradition to Flagler County.
"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," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "Malvoisin already knows what a bunk at the Green Roof Inn feels like, and soon Destin will, too."
The Sheriff's Office reminds residents that legitimate companies and financial institutions will never ask customers to mail or surrender a debit or credit card to "secure" an account. Anyone who receives a similar call should hang up and contact the company directly using the phone number on the back of the card or an official account statement. Suspected scams can be reported to the Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 386-313-4911.
FCSO also offers free Scams and Frauds classes through its Community Engagement Unit. The agency will host a Summit to Protect and Serve Seniors on Sept. 24 at the FCSO Operations Center in Bunnell, followed by its annual Safety Expo on Aug. 15 at European Village in Palm Coast, where residents can learn more about protecting themselves from fraud.
