Boca police: FAU fraternity treasurer charged with grand theft of $18,000

Joshua Dalton was arrested after making multiple fraudulent charges using a Sigma Chi Lambda Tau debit card.

Joshua+Dalton.+Photo+courtesy+of+the+Palm+Beach+County+Sheriffs+Office

Joshua Dalton. Photo courtesy of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

Katrina Scales, News Editor

UPDATE (Oct. 11): Joshua Dalton has been expelled from his fraternity, according to a statement from Sigma Chi Lambda Tau fraternity President Tyler Bonney. Following fraternity members’ discovery of “financial irregularities,” the chapter launched an investigation, found evidence of theft and fraud, and subsequently contacted local law enforcement.

A Sigma Chi Lambda Tau treasurer is facing multiple felony charges after admitting to police he stole fraternity money to support his heroin addiction, Boca police said.

Before his arrest Saturday evening at his Boca Raton home, Joshua Dalton, 25, confessed that he made fraudulent withdrawals totalling $18,212.91 from the fraternity bank account, a Boca police report said.

The former treasurer gave Dalton his debit card and told him to deactivate and destroy it after he stepped down in May 2017.

A fraternity member told Boca police that Dalton was his former roommate, a heroin addict, and a military veteran suffering from PTSD.

Two fraternity members suspected he was making fraudulent withdrawals to support his addiction, but were too afraid to confront him because they said he had firearms with him at all times.

The fraudulent withdrawals, which date back to July 2017, were made at several Boca Raton ATMs, most recently on the evening before the arrest.

Dalton admitted to police that all repeat purchases of $162.95 were used to buy heroin and that he would use the debit cards for personal use when he ran out of money. He said in the report that he wants to pay the money back.

Dalton’s bond was set at $9,000 and he was released Sunday from the Palm Beach County jail, the Palm Beach Post said.

He has been charged with fraudulent use of credit, grand theft of more than $10,000, and organized fraud under $20,000. His sentencing date is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Check back with the University Press for updates.

Katrina Scales is the news editor of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].