Overview
- Elias Staker, 49, of Cape Canaveral, is charged with one count of scheme to defraud and 38 counts of uttering forged checks.
- Police say he took a 66-year-old customer's checkbook after offering independent plumbing work, then cashed fraudulent checks across Brevard County beginning in February.
- The investigation began in September when the victim’s bank flagged a forged signature, and surveillance video captured repeated cashings totaling more than $33,000.
- Staker appeared before a judge Thursday and remains in custody without bond, and police say the victim may not recover the stolen money.
- Authorities cite prior fraud and theft arrests dating to 2007 and urge residents to vet in-home service providers using court and jail records while inviting potential victims to come forward.