Harrison Cops Scam a Phone Scammer

The Harrison Police Department announces the arrest of Donovan Wallace, a Jamaican National residing in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, for his role in a telephone scam.

Wallace, 28, was living in Maine when he was apprehended by the Harrison police. He is now in New York and has been charged with Larceny and Conspiracy.

On May 18, 2016, an 85-year-old woman received a telephone call from a person claiming to represent a credit card company, stating that there were some large charges on her account.

The victim advised the alleged credit card representative that the charges were not hers and he subsequently transferred her to a male identifying himself as “Trooper Philips.”

“Trooper Philips” advised the victim that he was conducting an investigation and believed there was a problem within Chase Bank, and he needed her assistance to determine who in the Bank was involved. “Trooper Philips” advised the victim that $23,900 would be reimbursed into her Chase Checking Account from the federal government and that she needed to withdraw $23,900 from her own account and FedEx the cash to “D. Wallace” at an address in Portland, Maine.

The victim followed “Trooper Philips’s” instructions, believing she was assisting in a federal investigation. $23,900 in cash was sent via FedEx to a Marriott Hotel in Portland, Maine, and was picked up by an unknown black man.

On May 20, the victim contacted “Trooper Philips” to see when she was going to get her money back and when he advised her that they are still working on the case, she realized she may have been scammed. The victim, who is a Harrison resident, immediately reported the incident to police.

On May 21, Harrison detectives went to the Marriott Hotel in Portland, Maine to further investigate the crime. Unfortunately, there was no surveillance video at the hotel and the person who picked up the package was not known to the Hotel staff, nor was he a customer there. However, hotel staff were able to provide a description of the suspect.

The detectives formulated a strategy to turn the tables on the telephone scam artist. They had the victim contact “Trooper Philips”, after coaching her on what to say to make him believe she had more cash that she could send him to assist in furthering his 'investigation.'

“Trooper Philips” took the bait and made another arrangement for the victim to FedEx cash, but to a different location in Falmouth, Maine.

On May 28, detectives coordinated a controlled delivery of a FedEx package and with the assistance of the Falmouth Police Department, apprehended Wallace after he picked up the package. The investigation concluded that Wallace is the one who picked up the original package containing the $23,900 cash and that he had already distributed the money to the ring leaders of the telephone scam.

Wallace voluntarily returned to New York in lieu of extradition proceedings. The investigation revealed that Wallace may be linked to other similar crimes along the East Coast and that victims’ monies were being disseminated overseas to Jamaica.

Police said Wallace is personally known by, and has direct contact with, the ring leader of the telephone scams, who is believed to be based in Jamaica. The Harrison Police are furthering their investigation with other law enforcement authorities, including law enforcement in Jamaica. The investigation is ongoing and could result in additional arrests.

Wallace was charged with Grand Larceny 3 rd Degree – D Felony, Attempted Grand Larceny 3 rd Degree – E Felony, and 2 counts of Conspiracy 5 th Degree – A Misdemeanor.

Wallace is currently being held without bail at the Westchester County Jail, police said.