A former assistant police chief in St. Augustine has been arrested after an investigation into financial discrepancies at the Police Benevolent Organization. | St. Augustine Police Department
Published on February 6, 2026 at 12:05 pm
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A former assistant chief of the St. Augustine Police Department was arrested after an investigation into alleged financial discrepancies in the Police Benevolent Organization, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Anthony Cuthbert was arrested Tuesday in Putnam County on warrants for grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, according to jail records.
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Police department officials confirmed their investigation into Cuthbert in a news release in late January. They said discrepancies had been found in the financial accounts of the Police Benevolent Organization, a private, officer-funded nonprofit independent of the city and police department.
Cuthbert served as the organization’s treasurer. The Police Benevolent Organization provides financial assistance to police officers and their families in times of need.
Cuthbert retired from the police department in late 2025, and financial discrepancies were discovered during a review of the Police Benevolent Organization accounts just after his retirement, police said.
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The State Attorney’s Office then investigated the issue, including review of financial records from the past five years.
An arrest warrant states that $22,722 was taken from the organization’s accounts between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 2 of last year. A fraud examination of the Police Benevolent Organization bank account and Cuthbert’s personal bank account revealed 177 checks issued to him, all signed, endorsed and deposited into his personal account, the warrant said.
The warrant also indicates that $17,632 in cash deposits made into Cuthbert’s personal account “are suspected to be funds due the (Police Benevolent Organization) and not himself.”
Cuthbert was released from jail just over an hour after he was booked, jail records show.
