Brett McClafferty Arrested in $888,500 Fraud Case; Banco Popular Complaint Cited; Walker Says She Does Not Represent Him

A St. Thomas restaurateur has been arrested in connection with what police describe as an $888,500 fraud investigation, as the accused individual's business partner and an attorney publicly dispute aspects of the case.

According to the V.I. Police Department, Brett McClafferty was arrested on Saturday following an investigation by the VIPD Economic Crime Unit into alleged counterfeit and fictitious financial instruments.

The investigation began in June 2024 after Banco Popular de Puerto Rico filed a complaint alleging that between January and June 2024, McClafferty deposited counterfeit and fraudulent checks drawn from entities in the British Virgin Islands and issued bank drafts from his Discover account that were later subject to stop-payment requests or returned for insufficient funds. Investigators determined that funds were withdrawn and wired to third parties before the financial instruments were returned unpaid.

Police said the investigation identified twelve fraudulent transactions totaling approximately $888,500 conducted through McClafferty’s business and personal accounts. Banco Popular reported a confirmed financial loss exceeding $80,000. Several counterfeit checks originating from the British Virgin Islands were reportedly flagged before funds could be withdrawn, preventing additional losses.