Woman accused of using deceased boyfriend’s debit card 24 times

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Stephanie Valencia Flowers, 49, was arrested this morning on charges related to fraudulent use of her deceased boyfriend’s debit card in February and March of 2021.

On March 23, 2021, the boyfriend’s mother contacted law enforcement to report that funds were missing from her late son’s personal savings account. The mother was listed as the sole beneficiary on the account, and there were no other authorized users on the account. Her son passed away on February 11, 2021, and Flowers was living with him at the time of his death. When the mother asked Flowers for her son’s personal effects such as a wallet, keys, and his identification and financial cards, Flowers told her that he did not have any of those items.

Bank statements show 24 fraudulent withdrawals/transactions between February 11 and March 2, for a total of $8,716.98. Surveillance footage from an ATM machine used for one of the transactions showed a vehicle belonging to Flowers in the drive-through. Flowers was observed making a transaction and withdrawing cash at the same time as a transaction was posted to her boyfriend’s account. Surveillance footage from ATMs at other banks also showed Flowers making transactions that matched time stamps on other fraudulent transactions.

Flowers has been charged with 24 counts of criminal use of personal identification information of a deceased individual, illegal use of credit cards, grand theft, and scheme to defraud. She remains in the Alachua County Jail.