INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FL — A college football player, Kareem Carswell Jr., is facing charges in connection with a bank card scam that defrauded a disabled woman of more than $17,000 in a multi-county fraud scheme stretching across South Florida.
The 21-year-old Palm Bay resident and Quincy University athlete was arrested by the FBI and Indian River County sheriff’s deputies on September 3 at a home in the Vero Beach area. Carswell is accused of grand theft and fraudulent use of credit cards.
“This is still an active investigation with the FBI,” said Lt. Kevin Jaworski of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. “Carswell was identified and linked to that residence.”
According to court documents, detectives began investigating in mid-July after an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman reported a suspicious phone call on July 7. The caller, described as a “young sounding male,” claimed to work for her bank and convinced her she was a victim of credit card fraud. Over a six-hour call, he instructed her to leave her bank cards under a doormat for collection.
Shortly after, her cards were used for a series of fraudulent transactions.
Surveillance footage from a Walmart in Sebastian identified Carswell transferring $500 onto a gift card using the woman’s bank card. In two stops, over $1,500 was transferred onto gift cards.
Deputies also tracked nearly $4,000 in money orders purchased with her cards at a Melbourne post office. In addition, over $6,000 in fraudulent transactions were made at Miccosukee Casino & Resort in Miami, where Carswell and another man were caught on surveillance using her cards.
Altogether, 10 transactions over two days across Indian River, Brevard, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties totaled over $17,000 in losses.
During a traffic stop the night of the Walmart visit, Carswell told officers he was heading to the store and identified himself as a running back for Quincy University. Officers noticed a white envelope in the back seat — a possible connection to the money orders.
Originally from Hollywood, Florida, Carswell previously played at Tusculum University in Tennessee and studied criminal justice.
He was released on $100,000 bail the day after his arrest. He faces charges of grand theft and fraudulent use of credit cards. Another individual detained during the raid has not yet been charged.
Court records currently do not list an attorney for Carswell, and he could not be reached for comment.
