Somerset County man charged in $35,000 phone scam after Bloomfield police investigation
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Essex County) — A Somerset man has been arrested and charged in connection with a theft by deception scheme in which a victim was tricked into handing over $35,000 in cash, police said.
The Bloomfield Police Department said the incident occurred on Feb. 15, when the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to represent Capital One Bank. The caller allegedly instructed the victim to bring $35,000 to a specific location and give it to a supposed representative of the Federal Trade Commission.
Police said the victim complied, delivering the cash to the location, where a man arrived in a vehicle to retrieve it. Detectives reviewed surveillance video and used other investigative techniques to identify the suspect as 26-year-old Mahir Patel of Somerset.
An arrest warrant was issued, and Patel later turned himself in on Sept. 8, police said.
“I would like to commend the members of our Detective Bureau for their investigation that led to this arrest. Members of the public are targeted by scams almost daily. Please do not respond to any suspicious phone calls or text messages and never provide financial information over the phone unless to a trusted source,” Chief George Ricci said in a statement.
