Mugshot of Keith Drigo Jr. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — An investigation that started in 2020 resulted in Thursday’s arrest of Keith Drigo Jr., who now faces charges of grand larceny, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
The Economic Crimes Unit of the V.I. Police Department received a complaint from Drigo’s grandmother on September 19, 2020. The woman, who shares her two-bedroom Nadir apartment with her son and grandson, raised the alarm when she noticed that her bank account balance had been unusually low a few months prior. Further examination of her records revealed several unauthorized ATM withdrawals totaling approximately $9,000.
The woman said she noticed more unauthorized ATM withdrawals when she checked statements from a second bank account, with $4000 withdrawn from that account between May 14 and June 3, 2020.
During her initial interview with the Economic Crime Unit, the woman provided investigators with the statements from that second bank account. The same records were also subpoenaed from the bank, which confirmed the illicit transactions identified by the complainant.
Surveillance footage from ATMs located in Fort Mylner and Red Hook captured during the timeline in question was also subpoenaed. The footage reportedly presented a clear image of the individual making the fraudulent withdrawals. The woman positively identified her grandson, Keith Drigo Jr.
A lack of cameras in the location of the first bank’s automated banking machines precluded police investigators from securing visual evidence in the same way. Police were able to observe a pattern in the ATM withdrawals between the two banks, noting the proximity of each bank’s ATM to the other bank’s machine. However, the exact time of the transactions could not be determined from the records of either bank.
Drigo, who is not an authorized signatory on his grandmother's accounts, was accused of exploiting his grandmother's illness by taking her bank cards and withdrawing a total of over $13,000 from her two bank accounts. However, investigators have conceded that there is only sufficient probable cause to charge him for the $4000 taken from her second account, for which there is said to be corroborating video evidence.
He was arrested and charged accordingly, and was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, May 26. During his advice of rights hearing, bail was set at $4000, payable in full. Public records indicate that Drigo remains in custody at time of publication.
