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Welinton Cedano, 29, sent the township resident a bogus text that purported to be from PSE&G, Detective Capt. Dan Daly said.
Following prompts, the woman was connected with someone claiming to be a manager who convinced her that she owed the utility money, Daly said.
Before it was over, she’d made four separate payments to a Zelle account, he said.
Suspecting it was bogus, the woman later tried to cancel the payments, but they’d already been processed, the captain said.
So she called police.
After obtaining subpoenas, township detectives traced the scam to Cedano, Daly said.
They charged him with theft by deception on a summons to appear in court.
Detectives found that several other payments to Cedano’s account, leading them to suspect there are more victims out there.
Daly asked that anyone with information related to the case contact Wayne Police Detective Michael Polifrone: (973) 633-3537.
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