Elderly Phone Scam: Fugitive Caught In South Carolina, Authorities Say

COLUMBIA, SC — A fugitive wanted in Barbados for allegedly scamming elderly people out of $130,000 was arrested in Fairfield County, South Carolina, federal authorities said.

Hainsley DaCosta Browne, who was on the run for months, was arrested hours after a media alert Friday asking for the public's help, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release.

He was wanted in Barbados on accusations that he ran a phone scam to convince elderly people to pay him money by saying he was a needy family member. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Investigators received information that he visited South Carolina late last year after fleeing Barbados, and tried to run the same scams in the U.S. The Marshals Service said he used multiple aliases and went by the nickname "Barbados." Authorities say he has a lengthy criminal history in Barbados.

A task force that included the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office took Browne into custody without incident.

"Individuals who prey on the elderly are devious," said Kelvin Washington, U.S. Marshal for the District of South Carolina. "This international case has shown no matter where fugitives attempt to hide, law enforcement partnerships across the globe will always prevail."

Browne was jailed pending the outcome of a hearing in federal court on efforts to return him to Barbados for trial.

Marshals Service spokeswoman Amanda Lyons said that he will be advised of his right to an attorney at a court hearing, but she didn't know if he had a lawyer yet.

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