Police: Hurricane Irma evacuees were victims of fraud

A nearly two-month investigation by the Financial Crimes Unit has led to the arrest of a 40-year-old man accused of fraud while helping victims of Hurricane Irma at Wells Fargo Bank, Columbus police said Tuesday.

Jeremy Keith Pritchett is charged with 17 counts of financial Transaction card theft, 14 counts of identity fraud and 10 counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person. He was taken into custody Monday and held in the Muscogee County Jail for a 9 a.m. Thursday hearing in Recorder’s Court.

Police said an investigation was launched in September after a woman, who was part of mandatory evacuation from Palmetto, Fla., to Phenix City, stopped at Wells Fargo Bank at 101 13th Street to check her balance. At the bank, the woman said she was told that only Pritchett could give her a copy of her savings account balance.

At the time, the woman said her balance was $90,000. The fraud occurred sometime between 2 p.m. Sept. 12 and Sept. 18.

Police Maj. Gil Slouchick of the Investigative Services Bureau said the investigation was conducted by Cpl. Crystal Hatcher who revealed 14 victims in the case. Most of the victims were over age 65 and were living on fixed incomes with limited funds .

The total amount lost by the victims wasn’t disclosed.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Police: Hurricane Irma evacuees were victims of fraud."