Man Tried To Steal Over $19K From Elderly Man Through Scam: PD

COPIAGUE, NY — A cashier at a Copiague business was arrested on Friday from trying to steal over $19,000 from an 89-year-old Mississippi man in a scam, according to Suffolk police. The 89-year-old man received a call from someone claiming to be an Amazon employee who tried to convince him that thousands of dollars had been inadvertently refunded to his account from Amazon, police said.

The man was asked to send $19,650 to a business believed to be Amazon on Sunrise Highway in Copiague, police said. After sending the cash, Suffolk County police were called and they intercepted the money before it reached its destination.

An investigation by the Financial Crimes Unit then led to the arrest of 26-year-old Harwinder Pal, a cashier at the business in Copiague where the money was sent to, police said. The business was not involved in the scam.

Pal, of Huntington, was charged with third degree attempted grand larceny. He was held overnight at the First Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Saturday.

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.