DARTMOUTH — Police have arrested a 21-year-old Queens, New York man in connection with a fraudulent scheme that resulted in a local woman being scammed out of $86,500.
Arman Verma was arrested Wednesday following a reverse-sting operation conducted by detectives from the Dartmouth Police Department’s Special Operations Division and a special agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation began in May when the victim reported to police that she had been defrauded through a phone scam.
Detective Kyle Berube spoke with the victim, who said she received several phone calls during the last weeks of May from an unidentified man claiming to work for Bank of America and Microsoft.
The caller told the victim her bank account and computer had been compromised and she would need to hand over cash to fix the problem.
Over the following weeks, the caller contacted the victim several times and on five separate occasions sent different individuals to pick up substantial amounts of cash from her Dartmouth residence.
Before picking up the money, the victim was instructed to take a picture of the cash and send it to an email address provided to her.
On Wednesday, the caller contacted the victim requesting an additional $30,000.
The victim immediately contacted Dartmouth Police, who organized the reverse sting operation that led to Verma’s arrest.
Verma was charged with attempt to commit a crime, larceny under $1,200 and conspiracy.
Police Chief Brian P. Levesque said the arrest demonstrates the department’s commitment to protecting the community from financial predators.
The investigation remains ongoing and police encourage anyone with additional information regarding fraudulent activity to contact Detective Kyle Berube at 508-910-1760.