FLORIDA - 5.8 million dollars worth of stolen State Treasury Funds nearly left the country last week.

Along with the man suspected of pulling off the heist.

But thanks to the F-B-I.... the thief was nabbed just minutes before his flight took off.

Whitney ray tells us how the F-B-I believes the man was able to swindle the state out of millions.

FBI agents say 35 year-old Ali Hammoud tried to pull off a caper worthy of the big screen.

"MIAMI Plane"

Last Thursday Hammoud was minutes away from boarding an overseas flight in Miami, agents say with millions of stolen dollars sitting in a Beirut Bank account.

"Road construction"

Hammoud is accused of taking 5.8 million dollars of state money that was to be paid to Anderson Columbia, a road construction company.

Whitney Ray / Reporter: "The money was supposed to be transferred into the construction company's account at Wachovia bank, but ended up in a Regions Bank opened by Hammoud."

The state wired four huge deposits into the account.

"Typing"

The suspect reportedly forged state documents using a name he pulled off the construction company's website. The state was tipped off to the switch when an accountant called about the missing pay checks.

"Dialing"

I talked to a representative from the company. He was shocked no one from the state called his office before sending their money to another bank. A Spokeswoman for Florida's Chief Financial Officer says they'll look at their policies after the FBI finishes its investigation.

Tara Klimek /CFO: "That is something that will come after the department is done working with federal authorities. Right now our focus is on making sure we can unwind all those transactions."

Federal agents are also looking at whether or not any state employees helped Hammoud steal the money.

The state is still working to recover all of the missing money. Hammoud is being held in a jail in South Florida.State Almost Lost Millions To Swindler