Richard Francisco Perozo Rodriguez posed as a cop in bail scam attempt, Nassau police say

Nassau County police arrested a 28-year-old man who attempted to scam a 79-year-old woman.

Police arrested Richard Francisco Perozo Rodriguez, of Birch Street in Wyandanch, on Friday after, authorities said, he called the Muttontown woman and claimed to be a police officer.

The woman was told her daughter had been arrested and needed bail money. The woman later realized the call was a scam and called police, according to a department release.

Detectives arrested Rodriguez around 9 a.m. on Friday when he attempted to pick up the payment. Police did not say how much money he asked for. 

Police charged Rodriguez with third-degree attempted grand larceny. He is expected to be arraigned in Hempstead on Saturday. Attorney information for Rodriguez was not immediately available. 

Detectives said anyone else who may have been the victim of the scam should call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. 

Earlier this month, a Queens woman was charged for allegedly scamming a Hicksville woman out of $1 million over the course of three months, Newsday reported.

In another scam, an 84-year-old woman received an alert on her computer claiming to be the fraud department at Citibank. She was told to withdraw $30,000 from her bank that she was supposed to hand over to an FBI agent. She handed over the cash, police said, and was later asked for another $18,000. Police arrested and charged one of two suspects in the case, Newsday reported. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ

Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance.