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A Cuban resident in South Florida found himself behind bars after being involved in a scam that left a local business without hundreds of pounds of lobster, one of the most sought-after and expensive products in the seafood market.
The case was revealed by the outlet Local 10, which cited information from the Medley Police Department regarding the arrest of Denis Paredes Matos, a 32-year-old resident of Hialeah.
According to the authorities, the fraud occurred to the detriment of Tarpon Bay Corporation, a seafood wholesaler located in Medley, which was deceived by an alleged customer using credit card payments that were never processed.
It all started when a man identified only as “Aldofo” placed an initial order for 100 pounds of lobster, valued at approximately $4,500. The order was picked up the next day by Paredes Matos, after the merchant believed that the payment had been approved.
Shortly after, the same client requested a second, much larger order, consisting of around 600 pounds of lobster, valued at nearly $15,000, attempting to split the payment across several cards.
Although some transactions were rejected, two appeared to have been approved and allowed the merchandise to leave the premises again. It wasn't until Sunday that the bank alerted the owner of the company that the payments had never been finalized, exposing the deception.
Far from disappearing, the scammer attempted another similar order on Monday. This time, the merchant decided to contact the police, who set up an operation and waited for the arrival of the courier. Paredes Matos was arrested when he returned to the location to collect the lobster.
During the interrogation, the Cuban claimed that he was merely fulfilling assignments given to him by a person he met while working as an Uber driver. He said he knew him as Luis Ramón Díaz and that he would receive 500 dollars for each delivery, according to the police report cited by Local 10.
Paredes Matos was accused of participating in an organized scheme to defraud and was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he remained detained with a bond of $2,500.
Prison records also indicate that the Cuban is facing immigration detention, an element that adds uncertainty to his legal situation in the United States.
So far, there are no official records of any individuals arrested under the name of the alleged organizer of the fraud, which raises many questions about who was truly behind the scam and whether there will be more arrests related to the case.
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