Wallkill senior nearly scammed out of thousands

The Wallkill Police Department recently shared the details of one man’s attempt to scam a local senior citizen out of $50,000.

According to the police report, on Friday, February 14 at 1:59 p.m., a 77-year-old Wallkill woman reported to Officer Alexi Leguillow that on February 13 she received an email claiming that she had an outstanding invoice with PayPal. After calling the number in the email, she was transferred to a man who purported to be an agent with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The man told the resident that her bank account may be compromised and to protect the money in the account, she should withdraw the money and turn it over to the FTC for safekeeping. The resident withdrew $30,000 from her bank account, then, as directed by the man, turned the money over to a so-called FTC agent in the parking lot of 333 Tower Drive.

On February 14, the resident became suspicious when the man called her again. She then called the FTC via the agency’s published number. That’s when a real FTC official told her to contact the police, because she was the victim of an apparent scam. Later in the day, under the guidance of Leguillow and Town of Wallkill detectives, the resident engaged in additional conversations with the man, who directed her to withdraw an additional $20,000 from her bank account and again meet with him at the same location as she did the day before. The resident agreed and at 7:51 p.m., at the previously agreed upon location, a man approached a plain clothed officer who portrayed the resident. The man was identified as Caiduan Li, of 750 45th Street, Brooklyn. He was taken into custody and charged by Detective Michael Condon with attempted grand larceny in the third degree.

Caiduan Li was processed and released until his next scheduled court appearance on March 5, 2025, at 9 a.m. before Judge Peter Green of Wallkill Town Court.

Upon his release, Li was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations.

The investigation into this case is ongoing. Anyone with information or who may have been the victim of this scam is encouraged to contact Town of Wallkill detectives at 845-692-6757.

Wallkill Police Chief Robert Hertman said in a statement, “We stress that citizens be wary of any suspicious solicitations for money, especially when the party making the request claims to be from a law enforcement agency. In these cases, I encourage our residents to immediately contact this Department so we can provide guidance.”