Collier County moving company owner accused of stealing more than $250K in property

A Collier County moving company’s owner has been arrested and accused of stealing more than $250,000 worth of items from a client in 2020.

Deputies say 41-year-old Christopher John Duffy was arrested on Wednesday and is facing charges of grand theft over $100,000 and dealing in stolen property.

The sheriff’s office says in Nov. 2020, Duffy’s moving company, Move 4 U Inc., was hired by the victim to move their stuff from their home to a storage facility. According to the sheriff’s office, the victim could not monitor the move because they were out of state.

CCSO says that when the victim returned to Florida in April 2021 and checked the storage facility where the items were supposed to be, they found most of them were missing.

Deputies say the victim’s list of missing items was valued at $265,711.

Collier County detectives began investigating and learned that Duffy had sold some of the victim’s belongings to a stranger at the storage facility. They said Duffy told the stranger he was cleaning the storage locker.

Detectives found the man who bought the times from Duffy. They say the man told them he purchased a seven-piece Brown Jordan table and chair set and an original abstract painting by artist Robert Natkin, along with a couch, chairs, and an ottoman, for $210.

The sheriff’s office says the painting purchased from Duffy for $10 was sold at auction for $9,250. The man who bought the victim’s items said the rest were sold on Facebook.

During their investigation, Collier County detectives found more of the victim’s items inside other lockers at the storage facility, as well as items belonging to other clients of the moving company.

Duffy was arrested at the Collier County Jail, where he was being held for a cocaine possession charge.