A suspect has been arrested in connection to an "elaborate fraud scheme" of an 84-year-old Portage resident.
According to city officials, the resident received an unsolicited pop-up message on their personal computer falsely indicting that the computer had been infected with a virus or malware and instructing them to call a cell phone number.
After the resident called the number, the victim was led to believe there had been inappropriate material, including pornography, on their computer and they could be facing legal consequences.
The suspect maintained contact with the victim for several weeks and in the end, convinced the victim to provide $28,000 in cash to an unknown courier to resolve the legal issues.
After the payment, city officials said the suspect continued contacting the victim and demanding additional money. Eventually, the victim contacted the Portage Department of Public Safety.
On Oct. 19, an undercover operation took place during a scheduled transaction, which led to the arrest of 23-year-old Jay Pankajbhai Chavda, of India, who was charged with Larceny by False Pretenses over $20,000, and using a computer to commit a crime.
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