Queens woman accused of posing as a police officer from India to scam Hicksville woman out of nearly $1M
Investigators said between June 29 and July 27, the 70-year-old Nassau County woman withdrew and wired a total of $919,200 after receiving a call claiming she was involved in a crime in India and needed to send over money to rectify the situation.
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A Hicksville woman wired nearly $1 million to an alleged fraudster over the course of a month after falling victim to a senior scam, Nassau County police said.
Now, Nassau County police are urging the community to be on alert.
Investigators said between June 29 and July 27, the 70-year-old Nassau County woman withdrew and wired a total of $919,200 after receiving a call claiming she was involved in a crime in India and needed to send over money to rectify the situation.
According to court documents, the 32-year-old woman, whose name is unknown, told the victim she was with the Delhi Police Department in India.
On Tuesday, the woman allegedly contacted the victim again and told her she needed to purchase an additional $300,000 in gold bars and coins so a CIA agent could pick them up and examine them as part of an ongoing investigation.
That's when the victim realized she was being scammed and contacted the police.
Yesterday, Nassau County police helped set up a sting operation in the parking lot of 280 N. Broadway in Hicksville.
According to court documents, police used a bag of fake gold bars valued at $284,650 if they were real. The woman is accused of taking the bars from a detective and exchanging a code word, which was the serial number on a dollar bill, before police arrested her around 5 p.m.
Nassau County police charged the Woodside, Queens woman with second-degree attempted grand larceny.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said scammers can make hundreds of calls before finding someone who believes their story.
“They can make a thousand phone calls. They only have to be successful once, as is in this case, and they got their payday for a year,” Ryder said.
Ryder said investigators are not blaming the victim and are focused on finding everyone involved.
Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been targeted by the same scam to come forward.
The woman pleaded not guilty to attempted grand larceny.
Nassau County police are asking the community to remind vulnerable family, friends and neighbors about potential scams or frauds.
The department is asking any other potential victims to come forward and contact the Nassau County Fraud and Forgery Section at 516-573-2815.
