A New Jersey man is facing charges following an investigation into an online refund scam that took place last week in Homer City Borough.
State police say 24-year-old Srinivas Rasala of North Brunswick was charged with a felony count of theft by unlawful taking following a scam that was reported last Monday. An unnamed woman from Homer City told them that she noticed a higher than usual charge on her utility bill and accessed a fraudulent website while looking for a customer support number. When she spoke to someone who labeled themselves as being from the “refund department,” they told her to open two other fraudulent websites as well as her bank accounts.
During the incident, the representative told her that a payment of $29,700 was erroneously deposited into her account and that she would need to withdraw that amount and give it to a courier that would arrive at her house around 11:30 that evening. When the vehicle arrived, she alerted troopers and they caught up with it along Main Street and arrested the driver, later identified as Rasala.
Rasala was arraigned before Magisterial Judge Robert Bell, Sr., and taken to Indiana County Jail. He was denied bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 28th at 11 AM.
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