JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Fernandina Beach woman was arrested on Oct. 2 and faces charges of grand theft and organized fraud, as she is accused of stealing "approximately $150,000" from her ex-employer, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Amanda Landon, 44, will appear in the Duval County courthouse on Oct. 25 at 9 a.m. after she bonded out on Oct. 5, according to court documents.
On June 14, 2023 at approximately 12:34 p.m., an officer responded to Joan Warwick Insurance, located at 1112 3rd St. in Neptune Beach, in reference to a call accusing Landon of stealing money from the business's policy holders, according to the arrest report. The complainant, Barbara Warwick, 70, also accused Landon of depositing the money into the company's business account and then writing herself a personal check from the business "from the money she stole," the arrest report states.
While the officer was on scene with Warwick, police say that Warwick "did not have any documentation supporting her claim." Warwick told police that she would retrieve all bank statements from her bank and then contact JSO for further investigation, the arrest report states.
On July 10, 2023, an officer contacted PNC Bank Manager Jennifer Yee, who had been assisting Warwick with her fraud investigation, the arrest report states. Yee verified two business accounts for Joan Warwick Insurance Company for police, and one personal account for Warwick, the arrest report states.
PNC Bank provided a copy of a fraud claim to police made by Warwick for Merrick Bank in reference to her personal Visa credit card, the arrest report states. Warwick claimed that all charges listed on the bank documentation were fraudulent charges made by Landon, according to the arrest report, totaling $22,902.66.
In a later phone call between Warwick and JSO, the arrest report reveals that Warwick told police that she never gave Landon permission to use her personal credit card for anything. Warwick also told JSO that she does not have an Amazon account, Instacart account, an Uber Eats account and did not make a Carnival Cruise Line purchase, according to the arrest report.
"The suspect [Landon] had access to all her [Warwick] personal and business information due to her [Landon] being an employee handling all clerical work," the arrest report states.
Warwick told JSO, according to the arrest report, that Landon was using her Home Depot credit card without her permission and that she had never used the credit card in the Jacksonville area, "only at the Lady Lake store located at the Villages."
On Apr. 29, 2022, the arrest report states that Warwick had deposited $65,000 from her Edward Jones investment account to her personal checking account. Afterwards, Warwick told Landon to "pay off credit cards and the business line of credit with PNC Bank," but the arrest report states that Warwick did not pay off the business line of credit and had to pay another $25,000 to PNC Bank in June 2023 to pay it off.
On July 17, 2023, Warwick told JSO that Landon had took out several loans against her life insurance policies with Nationwide Insurance Company at an unknown time, the arrest report states. Warwick also told JSO during this time, that several policies were cancelled because Landon was not paying back the loans, the arrest report states.
On July 24, 2023, PNC Bank's legal compliance unit verified through bank statements that Landon was wire transferring funds from out of Warwicks' checking accounts into her personal account, the arrest report states.
Over a 7-month period from April 2022 to October 2022, Landon deposited the following amounts of money into her personal account on a monthly basis, according to the arrest report:
- April 2022 - $30,416.21
- May 2022 - $27,101.50
- June 2022 - $29,037.79
- July 2022 - $25,561.06
- August 2022 - $26,656.89
- September 2022 - $42,146.20
- October 2022 - $21,501.26
"The large amounts of deposits in the suspect's [Landon] bank account confirms victim [Warwick] statement about the business line of credit not being paid off and the funds being moved into the suspects' personal account," the arrest report states.
On Sept. 14, 2022, Warwick transferred $23,000 from her Edward Jones Investment account to pay off more bills, the arrest report states. Based on Warwick and Landon's bank statements, the funds were moved from Warwick's account into Landon's account, according to the arrest report.
According to the arrest report, an officer made several subpoenas to the following companies:
- Nationwide Insurance Company
- Amazon
- Office Depot
- Uber Eats
- Carnival Cruise Line
- Instacart
- Progressive
- Home Depot
- Door Dash
On Aug. 1, 2023, JSO made contact with Carnival in which they provided copies of requested documentation that verified that Landon used Warwick's Merrick Visa credit card to make a payment of $300 for a cruise without her permission, the arrest report states. The report revealed that the documentation verified that Landon and her boyfriend, Eric Johnson, were guest listed on the cruise as it was set for Nov. 23, 2022 and the payment was made on July 11, 2022 at 6:05 p.m.
On Aug. 3, 2023, the Home Depot Fraud Investigation Unit verified to JSO through requested documentation that Warwick's credit card had been used several times in the Duval County area for outdoor supplies totaling 8,841.54, the arrest report reveals.
On Aug. 7, 2023, the arrest report states that JSO made contact with "victim" David Thompson, who stated that on May 20, 2023, he wrote a check to Joan Warwick Insurance Company and mailed it to the business's location. Thompson told police that the check cleared his account several days later and in July, he received a notice of cancellation of his policy from Heritage Insurance, according to the arrest report. After contacting the business, the arrest report states that Thompson was advised of the current fraud investigation. On July 21, 2023, Thompson had to write a second check to Heritage Insurance Company to get his policy reinstated as he is "currently out $3,110," the arrest report states. On May 26, 2023, a JSO officer verified that Thompson's check was deposited into Joan Warwick Insurance Company in the amount of $3,110 as Landon wrote herself a check in the same amount and deposited it into her account on the same day, the arrest report states.
On Aug. 9, 2023, Ryan Locke of Joan Warwick Insurance, told JSO that Southern Turf Products insurance company cancelled their policy with Joan Warwick Insurance Company after a check they wrote in the amount of $840, was processed and Southern Turf Products was never paid the premium, the arrest report states.
On Aug. 29, 2023, Nationwide Insurance Company provided copies of requested documentation to JSO that verified that five loan requests were made to the insurance company and Landon had filled out online paperwork and forged Warwick's signature, the arrest report states. Warwick told police that she did not request or sign the loans and that bank statements confirmed that Nationwide Insurance Company deposited the funds into Warwick's personal account, the arrest report states. The total amount of loans is $10,701.88, according to the arrest report.
Warwick moved from the Jacksonville area to the Villages as Warwick told JSO, according to the arrest report, that Landon had changed the mailing address of her mail to Joan Warwick Insurance and "that is why the victim [Warwick] did not know about the fraud until the banks started reaching out to her by phone." At no point in time did Warwick give permission to Landon to write checks to herself and deposit them nor did she give her permission to ever transfer money out of her personal checking account into Landon's bank account, the arrest report states.
JSO says the total amount stolen from Jan. 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023, was $365,957.
