Florida man pretends to be Irish while committing fraud

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – A Florida man has been arrested after committing multiple fraudulent transactions while pretending to be an Irish national.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement became aware of a man using the pseudonym “Declan Quinn” to commit fraud in February.

Following an investigation, agents found that “Quinn” had won the position of HOA Board of Directors presidents at his Washington County neighborhood. He also used his standing in his community to obtain a $17,000 loan fraudulently. The fake name was even used to sign a notarized promissory note stating he would repay the loan, which he failed to do so.

FDLE agents were able to link “Declan Quinn” to 55-year-old Daryl Gary Boehlke. He was later revealed to be a convicted felon out of Wisconsin.

Boehlke posed as an Irish immigrant to neighbors and while participating in business deals. He would also claim to be a member of the Irish Army.

It was revealed that Boehlke used a fictitious Irish passport as his identification while pawning over $1,000 worth of items at a store in Bay County.

Boehlke was originally arrested by agents for his fraudulent activity in Washington County where he faces charges of uttering a forged note, obtaining a promissory note by false representation, and fraud. They are all third-degree felonies.

He also faces charges in Bay County, including two counts for forgery and two counts of false verification under the Florida Pawnbroker Act, a second-degree felony.