Man who claimed he was robbed of $20k arrested in connection with filing false report

A 49-year-old man who claimed he was robbed of $20,000 was charged in connection with filing a false report and was a suspect in a theft investigation after his employer reported money had been missing, police said.

Frederick Baker is charged with filing a false police report of a felony, according to Lt. Joey Crosby, spokesman with Myrtle Beach Police.

Baker reported to Myrtle Beach officers on Friday afternoon that he was robbed of $20,000 after picking up a man on Ocean Boulevard who he agreed to take to a Myrtle Beach shelter. He told police the man he picked up pulled out a gun and demanded his money. He also reported that the alleged suspect grabbed a bag of money containing $20,000, which was money for deposit from Popeye’s Chicken in Conway, police said.

“ Detectives opened an investigation and the evidence revealed that Baker never traveled where he alleged the robbery occurred,” said Crosby by email. Additional information was discovered that Popeye’s had filed a breach of trust report with Conway Police Department, reporting that money was missing from the bank deposits over the last couple of months.”

On Friday, Baker had a meeting scheduled with the manager/owner of Popeye’s to discuss the missing money. Baker then concocted the story of being robbed of deposits to explain where the missing money had gone, Crosby said.

This story was originally published July 22, 2017 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Man who claimed he was robbed of $20k arrested in connection with filing false report."