STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — After a months-long investigation, Stuart Police arrested Henry Tyrone Harris Jr. in connection with a widespread $500,000 fraud scheme targeting retired United Airlines employees.
The investigation began last September at Stuart Check Cashing on S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, when employees accepted a counterfeit $10,000 check from Harris. Store owner Sam Barghouthy later realized the check was fake and quickly contacted authorities.
“You lose $10,000. You lose sleep over it,” Barghouthy said. “It affects you emotionally. You keep asking yourself—why would someone do this?”
Police linked the fraudulent check to a health savings account of a retired United Airlines pilot and uncovered a nationwide scam resulting in losses exceeding $500,000.
Thanks to bank records, surveillance footage, and witness accounts, Henry Tyrone Harris Jr. has been charged with grand theft of more than $5,000 but less than $10,000, and uttering a forged instrument.
Barghouthy expressed gratitude toward the Stuart Police Department for their thorough investigation, highlighting the impact of the crime on local victims.
