The following information was supplied by the Southold Town Police Department. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate guilt.
Chris Hugo Lopez, 23, of Brooklyn, was charged with third-degree grand larceny, a class D felony, on Dec. 28 after an investigation by Southold Town Police detectives of an August incident involving an alleged scam of over $4,500 from an elderly Mattituck woman, police said. Lopez was one of three men who received payment in advance to do chimney repairs, and then absconded with the money, according to police.
More arrests are pending in this case, and investigators believe the perpetrators are involved in a number of similar incidents throughout Suffolk County, police said. Lopez was held without bail pending arraignment in the Southold Town Justice Court.
Police are asking anyone who has experienced any similar incidents to contact the Southold Town Police Detective Division at 631-765-2600.
