Suffolk County Police have arrested a man for attempting to scam an elderly woman out of $10,000 yesterday.
A 79-year-old woman flagged down Fifth Precinct Sergeant Christopher Racioppo, who was on routine patrol, at approximately 1:30 p.m., and informed him that she was on the phone with a man who had contacted her the night before via email about a purported fraudulent PayPal charge on her account, and had instructed her to withdraw $10,000 cash from her bank account. Believing this was a scam, Sgt. Racioppo escorted her to her bank in Patchogue to confirm she had not yet lost any money, then to the Fifth Precinct for further investigation.
Fifth Precinct Anti-Crime Team, Crime Section officers, and Financial Crimes detectives set up a sting operation, along with Sgt. Racioppo, who kept the suspect on the phone and arranged a meeting with him at a local 7-Eleven, where the suspect arrived in a Mercedes SUV and identified himself. Following
an investigation, he was arrested, along with a female suspect, who was a passenger in the Mercedes.
Taidong Lin, 46, of Flushing, was charged with attempted Grand Larceny 3rd Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree. Xiuying Lin, 36, of Flushing, was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree.
Taidong Lin is being held overnight at the Fifth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on April 15. Xiuying Lin was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket and will be arraigned on May 4.
The investigation is continuing. Anyone who has additional information, or who believes they may have been a victim, is asked to call Financial Crimes detectives at 631-852-6821.