Flushing man arrested for Grand Larceny after attempted elder scam

Suffolk County Police have arrested a man for allegedly attempting to scam an elderly woman out of $10,000 on April 14.

A 79-year-old woman flagged down Fifth Precinct Sergeant Christopher Racioppo, who was on routine patrol, at approximately 1:30 p.m., and informed him that she was on the phone with a man who had contacted her the night before via email about a purported fraudulent PayPal charge on her account, and had instructed her to withdraw $10,000 cash from her bank account. Believing this was a scam, Sgt. Racioppo escorted her to her bank in Patchogue to confirm she had not yet lost any money, then to the Fifth Precinct for further investigation.

Fifth Precinct Anti-Crime Team, Crime Section officers, and Financial Crimes detectives set up a sting operation, along with Sgt. Racioppo, who kept the suspect on the phone and arranged a meeting with him at a local 7-Eleven, where the suspect arrived in a Mercedes SUV and identified himself.

Following an investigation, he was arrested, along with a female suspect, who was a passenger in the Mercedes. Taidong Lin, 46, of Flushing, was charged with attempted Grand Larceny 3 rd Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7 th Degree. Xiuying Lin, 36, of Flushing, was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7 th Degree.

The investigation is continuing. Anyone who has additional information, or who believes they may have been a victim, is asked to call Financial Crimes detectives at 631-852-6821.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.