Not only do investigators say Daniel Santos was ripping hundreds of people off, but they say he flaunted it on social media.
“He holds stacks of cash, firearms. And he’s not scared to show you the lifestyle that he’s living using other people’s hard earned money,” said Pasco Detective Spencer Hubbell.
Hubbell has a whole file cabinet dedicated to catching Santos. He’s been arrested 55 times just in Pasco County.
And he’s says this latest arrest should finally stick.
Investigators say Santos was running a fraud operation, using stolen debit and credit cards, and bogus checks to bring in millions of dollars.
“It’s feasible he was doing between $5,000 to $10,000 a day at times,” Hubbell said.
Detectives say Santos, a suspected members of the Bloods gang, would raid accounts until the bank realized what was happening.
In most cases, those banks would take the loss and the customers didn’t actually lose any money.
US Marshall’s arrested Santos in Miami where he was living in a luxury condo.
“Mr. Santos has never had a job. He’s never paid taxes. But he’s living the high life on everybody else's dime,” he said.
Along with the fraud, investigators say Santos has a violent criminal history including sexual battery on a victim under 16, and trying to run down a police officer during a traffic stop.
They say he was always able to bond out and go back to his criminal behavior.
“He’s treating it as a game. So I’m hopeful the game is over and we won this time,” Hubbell said.
The Sheriff’s Office says Santos got the stolen credit cards, by buying them or stealing them, which including mailbox hopping.
