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Important Fraud Prevention Notice from Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.

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Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) today warned its customers that crooks have launched a new round of predatory phone calls aimed at stealing O&R customers’ money. This latest round of harassing phone calls started last week when O&R customers reported a rash of phone calls seeking payment for bogus O&R bills.The scheme goes this way: Crooks posing as O&R employees call unsuspecting customers, inform them that their O&R account has been suspended for non-payment and that an O&R crew will be at their home in 15 minutes to disconnect their electric service.That threat is quickly followed by a demand for immediate payment of the bogus bill balance by prepaid debit card. Customers who have challenged the crook’s report about the fraudulent bill, saying that they checked their account balance online during the phone call, are dismissed as incorrect. The crook then aggressively renews the demand for immediate payment until the customer agrees to pay or hangs up on the crook.

Here are two big reasons not to believe any crook who makes a shutoff threat:
• NO PREPAID DEBIT CARDS – O&R does not accept bill payment for electric and gas utility bills by Green Dot or any other prepaid debit cards. Never has.
• NO IMMEDIATE SHUTOFF – Disconnecting O&R electric or gas service for non-payment of bills involves a multi-step process – including written communications from O&R to the customer over a period of several days, or even weeks — not hours. That process is regulated by the NYS Public Service Commission and NJ Board of Public Utilities.
          Customer vigilance is key to fighting off these crooks.
Remember, if you are feeling threatened or otherwise uncomfortable about your security during the exchange, immediately report the incident to your local police department at 911.

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Crime

Ramapo Police Department Asks You To Stay Out Of Their Town If You Are Driving Drunk

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Just after midnight, an RPD officer spotted a vehicle driving without headlights and committing several traffic violations. The motorist was found to be nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit. The driver, a resident of Nyack, NY, was arrested for DWI and issued 9 tickets. The case is set to return to Ramapo Justice Court.

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Crime

Queens Man Indicted For Trying To Meet With A Minor During Undercover Predator Sting

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Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced today that Jose Quizhpi, 48 of Queens, New York was indicted by a Rockland County Grand Jury on eight counts of Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree (PL Sec. 110.00/235.22), two counts of Attempted Rape in the Third Degree (PL Sec. 110.00/130.25(4), 110.00/130.25(5)) and one count of Attempted Endangering the Welfare of a Child (PL Sec. 110.00/260.10(1)).

On or about and between November 5, 2024, and November 17, 2024, the defendant exchanged numerous text messages, photographs, and videos, which were sexually explicit in nature, with a female child who he met online and whom he believed to be 15 years old. In fact, the defendant was communicating with an undercover investigator from the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office who was posing as a 15-year-old female child. Quizhpi planned to meet with the 15-year-old child to engage in sexual acts with her at a movie theater in The Town of Clarkstown. Quizhpi arrived at the theater and was apprehended.

This undercover investigation was led by the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations and Special Victims Unit with the assistance of the Clarkstown Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation, and a defendant should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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