Suffolk County Police have arrested a Huntington man for attempting to steal nearly $20,000 from an elderly Mississippi man during a scam.
The victim, an 89-year-old man, of Jackson, Mississippi, was contacted by an individual claiming to be an Amazon employee. The individual attempted to convince the victim thousands of dollars had been inadvertently refunded to his account from Amazon. The victim was directed to send $19,650 to a business believed to be Amazon, located at 1201 Sunrise Highway, Copiague. After sending the cash, the Suffolk County Police Department was contacted. The money was intercepted by police before it reached its destination.
An investigation by the Financial Crimes Unit, led to the arrest of Harwinder Pal, a cashier at a business, located at 1201 Sunrise Highway, Copiague. The business was not involved in the scam.
Pal, 26, was charged with Attempted Grand Larceny 3rd Degree. He was held overnight at the First Precinct and was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip.
The investigation is ongoing and detectives are asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the same scam to contact Financial Crimes Unit at 631-852-6821.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
