COURT HOUSE – Police arrested two men in Lower Township for allegedly posing as Amazon representatives in an apparent phone scam.
Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Lower Township Police Chief Kevin Lewis issued a joint press release announcing the conclusion of a multi-jurisdictional theft by deception investigation, initiated by the Lower Township Police Department and county Prosecutor’s Office, involving a phone scam.
The victim in this investigation received a call from someone, Aug. 29, claiming to be from Amazon Customer Service. The caller claimed they were calling because of an issue with a purchase and the victim’s identity was stolen. The victim was also transferred to another individual who claimed to be from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The callers told the victim there were multiple bank accounts opened in the victim’s name, the accounts were related to narcotics distribution and money laundering, and there was an arrest warrant issued for the victim. The victim was told that in order to take care of this warrant, the victim should take a sum of money from their bank account, and it would be held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. According to police, the victim met with the individuals and gave them the sum of money.
The victim was again contacted by the suspect who allegedly pressured the victim to remove additional money from their bank account. The victim was then instructed to purchase an amount of gold bars from a local jeweler and/or an online website. The victim purchased the gold bars, at which time law enforcement intervened.
Members of the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Lower Township Police Department, Cape May County Sheriff’s Office, and Cape May County Regional SWAT Team arrested two individuals, Sept. 7, who attempted to retrieve the gold bars from the victim.
The suspects were identified as Syed Sofianuddin, 26, of Harbins Road NW, Lilburn, Georgia; and Mohammad Khaja Faraz Uddin, 27, with no known address. Sofianuddin was charged with second-degree theft by deception, second-degree attempt to commit theft by deception, second-degree conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and third-degree eluding.
Uddin was charged with second-degree theft by deception, second-degree attempt to commit theft by deception, and second-degree conspiracy to commit theft.
Both subjects were lodged at the Cape May County Correctional Facility pending court proceedings.
Second-degree crimes can carry a sentence of between five and 10 years in New Jersey state prison. Third-degree crimes can carry a sentence of between three and five years, while fourth-degree crimes can carry a sentence of up to 18 months.
The prosecutor said this is an ongoing investigation and additional arrest warrants may be issued. Sutherland urges anyone with information regarding this theft by deception investigation or any similar “phone scams” to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609- 465-1135 or anonymously through the Prosecutor’s Office website at cmcpros.tips, or through the Cape May County Sheriff’s Tip line at cmcsheriff.net and click on anonymous tip, or through the Cape May County Crime Stoppers at 609-889-3597.
Sutherland continues to warn the public that similar phone scams occur frequently and not to turn money over to anyone who says an issue or problem, like an arrest warrant, will go away if they receive an amount of cash or currency.
