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Justin Campos, age 22 of Rocky Point, was taken into custody on Monday, Nov. 6 just before 10:45 p.m. for his alleged scam in Mastic, according to Suffolk County Police.
Campos, who also uses the aliases Campos Bracato and Justin Campos-Brocato, posted a picture of a home on Applegate Drive to Facebook Marketplace, claiming that the property was for rent.
When a woman messaged him through Facebook, wanting to rent out the home, Campos told her to send the deposit via Zelle to secure it.
She sent a total of $2,300 over two payments, police said.
The victim then noticed that the property was still listed on Facebook Marketplace.
Sensing a scheme, she had a friend reach out to Campos via Facebook to ask if the home was still available to rent.
He told the second person he was still taking deposits for the home.
The victim confronted Campos outside of the Mastic home, and police later contacted the actual homeowner to confirm that the house was not, in fact, up for rent.
Campos is charged with grand larceny.
He is due to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Monday, Nov. 27.
Additionally, detectives urge anyone who believes they may have been scammed by Campos to contact the Seventh Squad at 631-852-8752.
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