Subcontractor charged with cashing stolen checks at Amscot

A Leesburg man has been apprehended on warrants charging him with forgery and fraud.

Anthone Jamal Robinson, 26, was brought in by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for the incident in which he cashed about $1,237 worth of fraudulent checks he stole from an employer last year at an Amscot. 

On Aug. 16, 2023, a man reported that he had four checks stolen, according to an affidavit of probable cause out of Lake County. The day prior, he was contacted by Amscot, located at 10300 U.S. Hwy. 441, who told him that Robinson was trying to cash one of his checks at the location. 

He discovered that Robinson cashed three other checks without his permission at Amscot. These include a $527 check from Aug. 3, a $350 check with no date and a $360 check from Aug. 10, the affidavit said. 

The victim advised that Robinson had been working for him as a subcontractor. He kept his checkbook in the console of his vehicle, and Robinson had access to it. He also confirmed the checks were missing from the checkbook, the affidavit said. 

During the investigation, a detective with the Leesburg Police Department spoke with the victim over the phone about the case. He explained that he would need to subpoena Amscot for the original checks and security footage, the affidavit said. 

The detective contacted the Amscot Financial Compliance and Security Division over the phone and gave a representative the branch location number listed on the fraudulent checks. She advised the company had security cameras but only provides a live feed without saved audio or video. She also stated customers needed to provide photo ID and a Social Security number when they open an account, the affidavit said. 

After the subpoena process was finished around in October, the detective reviewed the information Amscot provided. The Financial Services Agreement contained Robinson’s personal information. The paperwork had his Social Security number, date of birth and a copy of his Florida ID, the affidavit said. 

The paperwork included copies of the checks that Robinson cashed which had his signature on the back of each. The detective compared Robinson’s signatures on the back of the checks, his Florida ID card and the service agreement, and they appeared to be similar, the affidavit said. 

The affidavit was signed on Oct. 20, 2023, and Robinson was ultimately arrested this past week. He was charged with three counts of forgery (uttering a forged check), theft/use of personal identification, grand theft and fraud (scheme to defraud less than $20,000) on a warrant. He received an additional two charges for failure to pay child support. 

Robinson was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $12,950 bond.