PHOENIX — Court records say a Florida man is facing multiple felony charges after Glendale police say he traveled to the Phoenix area to collect cash from victims of a bank impersonation scam.
Andre Hart, 22, of Miami, appeared in Maricopa County court accused of fraud and theft.
Court records say Hart was arrested July 30 after Glendale police detectives observed him receiving a package from a gray Toyota Prius in a Phoenix restaurant parking lot. When detectives arrested him, they found $25,000 in cash. Minutes later, an Uber driver arrived at the same location to deliver an additional $9,000 in cash, which was also seized as evidence. A subsequent search warrant executed at Hart's motel room turned up an additional $53,000 in U.S. currency, along with his passport and clothing matching what was seen in surveillance footage, according to court records.
According to those court documents, the scheme began July 8, 2026, when the first victim received a phone call from someone posing as a Chase Bank representative. The caller told her there was fraud on her account and instructed her to withdraw her money and hand it to a private investigator. She withdrew $14,850 and handed it to the driver of a black Hyundai in a Glendale business parking lot.
On July 13, a second victim received a call from the same phone number and was given a similar story, the court records say. She withdrew $18,500 from a Chase Bank branch in Glendale and handed it to a male driving a maroon minivan. The suspect again ceased contact after receiving the money.
Detectives later interviewed the minivan driver, who turned out to be a Lyft driver unknowingly hired by the suspect to pick up and deliver the cash. The driver told detectives he delivered the package to a heavy-set man in his 20s at a McDonald's parking lot in Phoenix.
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Surveillance footage from the McDonald's and a neighboring motel helped detectives identify Hart. The motel manager provided a copy of the passport Hart used to check in, and his passport and Florida driver's license photos were used to positively identify him from the video. Cell phone data records also confirmed his presence in Phoenix on both July 8 and July 13, according to court records.
Court records say Glendale police also contacted the Pima County Sheriff's Office, which had already responded to a similar case involving the same method of operation.
At Hart's initial court appearance, the judge set a $100,000 cash bond and ordered Hart not to leave Arizona while the case is pending. Hart told the court he does not live in Arizona and asked whether he could return to his home state or wear an ankle monitor instead.
"Because you do have pending felony charges at this time, you are going to be required to stay in the state of Arizona, so you'll have to make some accommodations if you do post that bond and are released from custody," the judge said.
The judge declined to modify the bond or release conditions, citing concerns that Hart may have access to significant sources of illegitimate funds and poses both a flight risk and a danger to the community.
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