Police: Jersey City man sought for scamming elderly woman out of $100K

💲 A Jersey City man is sought after scamming an 81 year old woman

💲 Scam started with an email thanking her for a $400 subscription payment

💲 She was eventually bilked out of $100,000, police say

WALL TOWNSHIP — An arrest warrant has been issued for a Jersey City man accused of scamming an elderly township woman out of $100,000 seven months ago.

According to Wall Township police, officers responded to the 81-year-old woman’s home on May 5, after she fell victim to the computer scam.

She said she received an e-mail from a man, who has been identified as Shiva Penmetsa, 31, thanking her for a $400 payment for a subscription that she knew nothing about.

So, the woman called the phone number in the email to inquire, which allowed the suspect to gain electronic access to her computer.

That is where he pretended to make an effort to refund the $400, but “by accident,” he led the victim to believe that he added too many zeroes to the refund and “mistakenly” refunded her $40,000 for the subscription, police said.

The suspect then instructed the woman to write two cashier's checks.

One for $39,600, and one for $60,000.

But police have not disclosed the reason, if any, the suspect may have given the woman as to why she needed to pay an extra 60 grand.

She then deposited both checks into a Bank of America account on May 8.

Penmetsa is wanted for second-degree theft by deception, according to police.

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