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Loudoun man charged in scam
A South Riding man has been charged for his alleged involvement in a scam using counterfeit checks, commonly referred to as the “Nigerian Scam.”
Sharveen Sharifaie-Arabi, 21, is charged with one count of obtaining money by false pretenses. A search warrant conducted by Loudoun investigators at Sharifaie-Arabi’s home uncovered $2,423,070 in counterfeit checks. On Aug. 9, Sharifaie-Arabi was taken into custody at the Prime Mart in Chantilly during a sting operation set up by Loudoun Sheriff’s investigators, Western Union and members of the Fairfax County Police Department.
The investigation began earlier this month when Loudoun Sheriff’s investigators were contacted by personnel from Vanderbilt University. Apparently, a student at the school had been scammed out of money during her attempt to rent a room to a South Riding man.
On Aug. 8, the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office received a second complaint regarding the same suspect from a Rhode Island man. The victim received a suspicious check from a man in South Riding. The check was sent to the Rhode Island man to purchase a Howard Miller display case on Craigslist.
In the Rhode Island case the suspect sent a check for more than the asking price of the display case. A letter sent along with the check asked the recipient to send some of the extra money via a money order to the Western Union location nearest to South Riding. In this case, the money order was allegedly to pay another individual for moving expenses.
In the sting operation, the suspect was notified the extra monies had been sent to the Prime Mart convenience store. Sharifaie-Arabi was taken into custody when he went to pick up the check. He has since been released on a $3,000 secured bond.
At this time there are no reported scam victims in Loudoun County. The case remains under investigation and further charges are possible.
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