Jacksonville moving company worker accused of stealing from Navy family

A Jacksonville moving company worker is in jail, accused of stealing from a military family.

Charlie Fort, Jr. has more than 20 prior convictions in Duval County, but Stewart Moving & Storage still hired him as a temp worker to go into local families’ homes and handle their belongings.

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About 70 percent of the company’s customers are military families, according to its president.

It was the Alvarez family’s third move in four years, and it was a big one for the Navy family: From the Jacksonville area to Hawaii with a toddler.

“Right before we were going to move into our new home, my husband realized that his iPad was active in Jacksonville,” said Amy Alvarez.

When they checked their iCloud, Alvarez said they noticed something strange.

“There were hundreds of pictures that we’ve never seen before or taken. And there were two clear shots of one of our movers from Jacksonville,” she said.

When the Alvarez family’s belongings arrived in Hawaii, she said their iPad was missing.

Fort was arrested on Tuesday and charged with petit theft.

Fort has been convicted of crimes more than 20 times in Duval County, including multiple burglary and theft convictions.

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“It just baffles me how a moving company has no idea that this man is such a criminal. And it’s very scary because this man, for two days, came into our home around my 2-year-old daughter,” said Alvarez.

Stewart Moving & Storage President Stefan Cordeiro would not agree to an on-camera interview, but told Action News Jax off-camera that he did not do a background check on Fort because Fort was a temp worker only doing a few jobs.

Cordeiro said his company is now doing background checks on all temp workers.He later sent this written statement about Fort and the challenges moving companies face during peak summer season:

Cox Media Group