FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Georgia woman was accused of money laundering after convincing her victims to deposit cash into crypto ATMs to get rid of warrants for their arrest, records show.
According to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s report, detectives found Cartilia Leslie was involved in a “confidence scam” estimated at over $214,000 — some of it in Broward County.
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Leslie, 31, of Atlanta, impersonated Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies when she called the victims and gave them instructions about how to pay for “a fee,” according to the police arrest report.
One victim told police Leslie ordered her to deposit $7,000 at an Athena Bitcoin ATM in Boynton Beach. Once the money was in Leslie’s Coinbase account, she transferred some of it to her Wells Fargo bank account, according to police.
To hide the fraud, Leslie also transferred funds from the Wells Fargo account to accounts with Chase and the Navy Federal Credit Union, according to police.
A Broward County judge issued a warrant for Leslie’s arrest in May and she was served on Thursday.
Records show Leslie is facing eight felony charges: Organized fraud, three counts of criminal use of personal identification information, money laundering, and three counts of grand theft.
Her defense asked for a $32,500 bond. Broward County Circuit Judge Edward Harold Merrigan Jr. was set to preside over the case.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.