Suspected Scammer Arrested By Lincoln Police After Stealing $40,000

Lincoln Police cruiser. (Jeff Motz/KFOR News)

Vipulkumar Chaudhary (Courtesy of Lancaster County Corrections)

LINCOLN–(KFOR Mar. 28)–A Council Bluffs, Iowa man is accused of running a scam and stealing $40,000 from a 27-year-old Lincoln man this past weekend.

Lincoln Police arrested Vipulkumar Chaudhary after a man got a call to drop off cash at the Hy-Vee near 50th and “O” streets. The 27-year-old victim called police Monday morning to report a fraudulent scheme. He was contacted by an unknown man who wanted him to cooperate in a “secret operation to prove that his money was legitimate.”

Police said the scammer, posing as a “deputy inspector general,” told the victim to bring $40,000 in cash to Hy-Vee parking lot and hand it off. A Honda Accord with Illinois license plates was spotted in the parking lot, and surveillance video showed the victim give the money to someone inside covering their face with a scarf. The vehicle drove off, and the victim called police.

LPD investigators later tracked down the suspect and undercover work led to Chaudhary in the same store parking lot in the same vehicle. He was arrested and put in jail before being arraigned on Wednesday.