A 51-year-old Oregon man was extradited to Nassau County and charged with grand larceny in connection with a Westbury compromising a business email that redirected nearly $162,000 in payments, Nassau County police said.
Dwayne Stewart, 51, of Oregon, was charged following an investigation into three payments totaling $161,938.83 that were sent to an unauthorized Bank of America account between Oct. 12 and Nov. 30, 2022, according to police.
Detectives said an employee received an email instructing that the business’s online payment transfers should be sent to a new bank account. The employee followed the instructions and made the three payments.
In January 2023, a business representative contacted the employee about outstanding bills and said the payments had never been received, police said.
The employee then discovered that the company’s email server had been compromised and that the payments had been redirected to an unauthorized recipient, according to police. The employee contacted authorities.
Following an investigation conducted with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Major Financial Frauds Bureau, the Nassau County Fugitive Squad located Stewart and arrested him without incident, police said. He was later extradited to Nassau County.
Stewart pleaded not guilty to second-degree grand larceny during his Sept. 4 arraignment in Nassau County Court and was remanded without bail, according to state court records. He is scheduled to return to court Sept. 23.
Police are urging residents and businesses to remain alert for scams and fraud. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim can contact the Nassau County Police Department Fraud and Forgery Section at 516-573-2815 or call 911.
Photo: NCPD
