Man from New Jersey Arrested in Indiana County Scam Investigation

HOMER CITY, Pa. — A man from New Jersey was arrested during a scam investigation in Indiana County.

Pennsylvania State Police said Srinivas Rasala, 24, of North Brunswick, was charged on Feb. 13 with one felony count of criminal attempt theft by unlawful taking or disposition.

On Feb. 12, a woman from Homer City went to state police and reported that she received a higher than usual utility bill.

She explained that while looking for a customer service phone number so that she could discuss her utility bill, she had mistakenly accessed a fraudulent website, state police said. After contacting and speaking with the “refund department,” she was advised that she had been overcharged and would receive a refund.

During the victim’s interaction with the “refund department,” she was instructed to access two obscure websites and said that she also accessed her bank accounts. At some point during her communication with the “refund department,” $29,999.99 was deposited into her account.

The “refund department” said there was a mistake and that there was an overpayment of $29,700 put into her account. She was told to withdraw the money and a courier would be sent to her house to retrieve it. She took the money out of her account and was told the courier would arrived at around 11:30 p.m., state police said.

At around 11 p.m. that night, an unfamiliar car arrived at the victim’s house and left after several minutes.

State police found the car on Main Street in Homer City. They pulled it over and arrested the driver, identified as Rasala.

Troopers later determined that the victim’s bank account was linked to the account of a family member and that in the course of the victim’s interactions with the suspect, the $29,999.99 was transferred from that account into the victim’s account, state police said.

Rasala’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28.

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