Fort Myers man accused of using stolen identities to lease apartments, finance vehicle

A Fort Myers man was arrested on Friday after officers said they uncovered an identity theft scheme in which the suspect used other people's identities to lease apartments and obtain vehicle financing. According to the Fort Myers Police Department arrest report, on July 2, a victim reported multiple unauthorized ACH debit transactions from a joint savings account she owned with her husband. The unauthorized transactions sent money for rental apartment payments in the name of Johnathan Decker, 41, according to the report. On July 8, the victim's husband reported that an unknown individual had unlawfully used his personal identifying information to submit a fraudulent vehicle application to Courtesy Nissan in Tampa, the report said. Officers obtained records from the dealership, which revealed that Decker was the primary applicant while the victim was fraudulently listed as the co-applicant. Further investigation led officers to a phone number used by Decker in the fraudulent vehicle application. A search warrant for the phone number and related e-mail address was submitted to Apple, and officers were able to link the Apple account used in the fraudulent vehicle application to fraudulent apartment leasing transactions. One such transaction involved Ascent at Metropolitan Naples, which was one of the apartment communities associated with the unauthorized ACH transactions from the victim's account, the report said. Officers then obtained records from The Riley Apartments in Lee County and established that Decker had been leasing an apartment there under the same Apple account, the report said. An employee of the apartment complex was able to positively identify Decker. Investigators determined that the offenses committed against the victims were not isolated incidents and were instead part of an ongoing identity theft scheme perpetrated by Decker, the report said. On August 7, officers and deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at an apartment on Waterbury Court and located Decker inside. Decker was arrested and faces two charges of identity theft. Decker is currently being held at the Lee County Jail. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV