Custodian Scammed Coworker Out Of More Than $50,000: Nassau DA

A custodian from Hempstead was arrested on Wednesday and charged with taking more than $50,000 in bribes in order to give work to a man who never got it, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Dane Williams, 29, was charged with second-degree grand larceny, first-degree identity theft and second-degree aggravated harassment. The judge in his arraignment issued a stay-away order of protection for the victim. Williams is due back in court on March 8, and could face up to 15 years in jail if convicted of the top charge.

“This defendant allegedly preyed on a coworker’s desire to get a better job by allegedly scamming the man out of more $50,000 with promises of work in two local school districts,” Singas said. “My office takes financial frauds cases very seriously and we will vigorously prosecute this case and seek restitution for the victim.”

According to Singas, between January 2018 and January 2019, a man paid Williams more than $50,000 to get a job as a janitor in the Hempstead and Uniondale school districts. Williams was supposed to send the money to local elected officials and janitorial supervisors at the districts, who were supposed to give the man a job, Singas said. Instead, he kept the money, according to Singas.

In order to get more money from the man, Singas said that Williams sent him death threats via text message. The victim then contacted a man who he believed to be his attorney, but was actually Williams posing as an attorney, Singas said. Williams, as the attorny, asked for more money in exchange for police protection and legal services.

Williams had worked with the victim for seven years at a rehabilitation and nursing center in Uniondale, Singas said. In order to pay Williams, the man borrowed money from his friends and family. He came forward to the DA's office after his friends and family realized he had been the victim of a scam, Singas said.