A 21-year-old resident of Bangor, Maine, was arrested by Fruitland Park police after he allegedly used a TD Ameritrade debit card to fraudulently purchase vehicles from two local car dealerships.
Caleb Christopher Savoy on April 4 went to Phillips Buick GMC in Fruitland Park and attempted to purchase a 2003 Ford Mustang for $17,911. Savoy told the dealer he needed to have the money wired to them from a TD Ameritrade account. The dealer informed Savoy that he could not take delivery of the vehicle until the dealership had the money. Savoy returned on April 6 to pick the vehicle up, but the money had not yet arrived. He then used a TD Ameritrade debit card to put $500 down on the vehicle and took delivery. Savoy returned to the dealership on April 7 to see if the money had arrived and was told it had not. He asked if he could use the debit card to pay the remaining balance. He was told he would be charged an additional 2.5 percent for using the debit card, which brought the purchase price to $18,358. The charge was denied. But then Savoy called on his cell phone to an authorization center and obtained a code. The dealer ran the card again and the charge was accepted.
On Wednesday, the dealership received a call from a TD Ameritrade fraud investigator. He informed the dealership that Savoy had used a technique known as a “forced post” to make the transaction go through. It was discovered that Savoy had used the same technique to purchase two other vehicles at Bill Bryan Chrysler Dodge Jeep on Tuesday. Those vehicles had a combined value of $65,000.
Fruitland Park police tracked down Savoy on Wednesday and he admitted he did not have the funds to pay for the vehicles. It was determined that Savoy had recently been arrested in Massachusetts in connection with a stolen vehicle.
Savoy was arrested and is currently being held on $34,000 bond at the Lake County Jail.
The vehicles have been recovered.
He is due for arraignment May 4 in Lake County Court.
