A Florida man was taken into custody and accused of scamming a 74-year-old woman living in Texas out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by impersonating billionaire Elon Musk, police announced on Thursday.
Jeffrey Moynihan, Jr., a 56-year-old business owner in Florida, was charged with grand theft for allegedly tricking the woman into giving him at least $250,000, according to an arrest warrant obtained by HuffPost.
It’s unclear if Moynihan has an attorney representing him.
The woman initially befriended Moynihan in 2023 over Facebook, believing he was really Musk, and in the months that followed the two continued to communicate.
Detective Jim Curulla of the Bradenton Police Department’s Elder Fraud Unit told NBC affiliate WLEX-TV that Moynihan used information gathered from Musk’s social media accounts to guide his conversation with the woman.
“So, if [Moynihan] went and saw a launch, he would say, ‘Well today, I’m at a launch but maybe we can talk tonight when I’m free’ or ‘This week I’m going to go talk to some high-profile people and maybe you can watch me on TV tonight,’” Curulla said.
When questioned by her 80-year-old husband, the woman maintained that she knew she was talking to the real Musk because news coverage coincided with what Moynihan was telling her he was up to, according to WLEX.
Moynihan eventually convinced the woman to make an investment with him, telling her she would receive $55 million in return, according to the warrant. He allegedly told the woman to wire over $370,000 to several different bank accounts in different states connecting to “Jeff’s Painting and Pressure Washing, LLC,” which he claimed was his money manager.
Bank records cited in the warrant show a total of $250,000 transferred from the woman to accounts belonging to Jeff’s Painting and Pressure Washing, LLC, which list Moynihan as the owner. The bank manger told police that Moynihan’s abnormal financial activity tipped off their fraud unit, and the bank eventually closed his accounts, the warrant said.
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Moynihan was arrested at his home on Tuesday, according to police.
The woman’s husband told police that he believes his wife gave Moynihan more money, around $600,000 in all, according to the warrant. He added he believes his wife has dementia and still thinks the “Musk” who befriended her was real.
A spokesperson for the Bradenton Police Department told HuffPost the investigation is still ongoing and detectives are continuing to go through the evidence obtained from Moynihan’s home.
A recent FBI report found that elder fraud complaints rose by 14% in 2023, with 101,000 victims over the age of 60. These scams caused over $3.4 billion in losses that year, with the average victim losing about $33,915.