KIPS BAY — An off-duty NYPD traffic agent was busted Thursday after scamming a Colorado woman out of tens of thousands of dollars, according to police.
Johnny Phuong, 45, a five-year veteran of the traffic division, convinced his victim that if she forked over cash, he would get her in touch with a broker to set up an online business, an NYPD spokesman said.
Phuong managed to get about $38,000 from the woman, but when he asked for even more money, she notified police, the spokesman said.
An investigation revealed that the broker Phuong had promised to set the woman up with had no knowledge of any business deal, police said.
It was not immediately clear what kind of business Phuong had allegedly promised to help start, or how he knew the woman.
Phuong was arrested while he was off duty near 28th Street and Lexington Avenue at 8:30 p.m., the police spokesman said. He was charged with grand larceny and suspended without pay by the department, police said.
Phuong joined the NYPD traffic bureau in 2010 and worked throughout the city, police noted.
Phuoung could not immediately be reached for comment.
