2 men arrested in Mineola elder scam, Nassau police say

Two men accused of scamming an elderly Mineola man out of more than $37,000 were arrested Saturday, Nassau police said.

Ryad Moussi and Jonathan Caton, both 21 and from Montreal, Canada, led the 86-year-old to believe that a family member facing legal trouble needed money, according to police. 

The victim withdrew money on three occasions from three different financial institutions, totaling $37,250, over the course of three days last week, police said. 

A bank employee contacted police on Saturday, suspecting an elder scam when the victim attempted to withdraw more money, according to an incident report. 

Moussi and Caton were arrested around 12:50 p.m. as they attempted to pick up another payment, police said. They’ve each been charged with multiple counts of grand larceny, conspiracy, scheme to defraud, attempted grand larceny and attempted scheme to defraud.

Nassau County police ask anyone who may have fallen victim to a similar scam to reach out or file a report with their local police department.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.