CHRISTIANSTED — A St. Croix man who allegedly took $7,000 from an old man to purchase “vehicles,” never delivered on the automobiles, but kept the money anyway, authorities said.
Jose Bermudez, 49, of Bugby Hole was arrested at 9:25 a.m. Thursday and charged with obtaining money by false pretense, embezzlement by bailee, and grand larceny, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
“Bermudez is accused of scamming an 81-year-old male victim out of over $7,000 back in 2019,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said. “The money was given to Bermudez to purchase vehicles, which the victim never received.”
Bail for Bermudez was set at $20.000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing.
Detectives from the VIPD’s Economic Crime Unit made the arrest of Bermudez based on a Superior Court warrant, according to Derima.