Man Stole $73K Through Craigslist Scam: Police

COMMACK, NY - A Commack man was arrested for scamming people by pretending to sell cars on Craigslist, according to Suffolk Police.

Between December 2016 and September 2017, Emmanuel Amaral, 48, advertised cars for sale on Craigslist, police said.

Numerous victims paid Amaral anywhere between $3,000 and $24,000 for a vehicle and would wait several months for delivery of their car, which never occurred, police said.

In one case, Amaral scammed a victim he met while in line at a bagel shop and in another instance he defrauded a victim he met an elementary school event, police said.

He stole a total of $73,000 from victims through the scam, police said.

After an investigation, Amaral was arrested in front of his home on Maple Lawn Drive at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

He was charged with seven counts of third degree grand larceny, and first degree scheming to defraud.

Amaral was arrested before in 2012 for taking $2,000 in cash as well as a check for $2,800 for a 2006 Ford Van he was allegedly selling but never delivered to the buyer, according to a previous Patch report.

Detectives are asking anyone who feels they may have been victimized by Amaral, who also uses the aliases Manny Balboa and Manny Amaral, to contact the Property/Auto Crime Unit at 631-853-7114.

Amaral is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday. The investigation is continuing.

Photo: SCPD