Two Broward men who hatched a scheme that scammed Uber out of more than $1 million have been arrested, authorities said.
Trayon Morgan, 21, and Roy Blackwood, 38, were arrested on charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud following an 8-month investigation, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.
The scheme dates back to Januray 2022 and involved the pair using fake accounts and phony or stolen names, mainly in Broward and Palm Beach, authorities said.
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Morgan used Uber Eats and would place a grocery order as a consumer for pickup under a fake account, then accept the order as the courier, authorities said.
Uber would then provide Morgan with a preauthorized and preloaded credit card to make the purchase, up to $700 during a single purchase. Then, as the consumer, he would cancel it and proceed to buy a gift card with the Uber credit card, officials said.
Authorities said Blackwood would drive Morgan to different Walgreen's stores to commit the fraud.
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On Jan. 24, detectives who were conducting surveillance watched as the pair traveled to 27 different Walgreens to commit fraud, for a loss of more than $5,000 for Uber, officials said.
Morgan created several fake accounts to keep the fraud going, or he would often use stolen and fabricated identities of Uber drivers, using their license information and altering it with his own photo, officials said.
Blackwood, of Sunrise, was arrested on Aug. 16 in Palm Beach Gardens. Morgan, of Lauderhill, was arrested Tuesday in Tamarac.
