Long Island Woman, 87, Sent Over 650K To Bogus FBI Agent In Elder Scam: DA

SETAUKET, NY — An 87-year-old Setauket woman was tricked into sending over $650,000 in checks to a bogus FBI agent pretending that her bank account had been compromised, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office said Friday.

The scam began in Suffolk in July 2022, when the elderly woman was told by someone purporting to be from her bank that her account had been flagged, and she was instructed to call a number for “FBI Special Agent Johnson,” prosecutors said, adding that the bogus agent advised her that someone had stolen her identity to rent a vehicle that was found in Texas with drugs and blood in it.

The bogus agent further directed her that to protect her savings from the thieves, who had stolen her social security number and identity, she needed to send her money to others for safekeeping and to pay for a new social security number, prosecutors said.

The scammer even went as far as to establish a rapport with the woman by calling every day to check up on her, according to prosecutors.

The scammer’s efforts ramped up when he told her that there was a “gag order” placed on her, so she could not divulge “confidential information” on an “open investigation,” prosecutors said, adding that she was also sent confirmation letters of transactions with counterfeit FBI letterhead.

In total, the woman sent the scammer cashiers' checks worth over $650,000, prosecutors said.

In December 2022, an Adult Protective Services Investigator from South Bend, Indiana, reached out to a Suffolk police's Financial Crimes Unit detective to alert her that while authorities there were investigating a phone scammer case, they had found the name of the woman, who may have also been a victim, according to prosecutors.

The woman was initially apprehensive to talk to a Suffolk detective because she had already been manipulated by the scammer on the phone who warned her the detective may be a con artist, prosecutors said. Once the woman confirmed that the detective was a legitimate member of law enforcement, she described the elaborate scheme that had led to her sending over $650,000 to the fake “FBI agent," according to prosecutors.

The DA’s Financial Crimes Bureau prepared a seizure order for $115,000 from a South Bend bank account, which represented some of the monies sent by the woman, and those funds were returned to her, prosecutors said.

Investigators on this case also learned that the woman had sent a cashier’s check for $25,000 to a location in Queens, but after discovering the package with the check was still in transit, detectives worked in unison with FedEx authorities to intercept it before it was delivered and returned the check, according to prosecutors.

The woman does not want her identity disclosed.

Tierney noted that "scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated, and they are preying on our vulnerable elderly population" and warned that the public needs be made aware of how they operate so they can take precautions to safeguard their funds if they are targeted."

“Due to the diligence and timely efforts of law enforcement partners, we were able to recover $140,000 here and provide it back to the victim. To avoid being scammed, any time you receive a phone call or communication where the person requests your personal information, money, or requests a transfer of funds, stop that line of communication."

He advised to hang up the phone and not respond to the email or text.

"Take a moment to slow down and be skeptical," he said. "Call your bank or the agency that the scammer says they are from using published phone numbers (not a phone number the scammer gives you). Consult an expert or law enforcement, or just speak with your dependable friends or relatives about the phone conversation before accepting the story as true and sending money.”

If you or someone you know may have been a victim of this or any scam, you can

call the Suffolk County Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit at 631-852-6821.