2 posed as cops in prostitution shakedown scam in Cortlandt, police say

CORTLANDT — Two people have been charged in a prostitution scam in which, police said, they lured customers via the Internet, then pretended they were cops and demanded money from the customers to drop patronizing charges.

Two would-be johns agreed to pay the pair more than $1,000 each to avoid arrest and seizure of their cars, police said.

Shatai Dungie, 32, of Albany Post Road in Cortlandt and Nyrhande Thompson, 38, of Main Street in Peekskill were charged over the weekend with first-degree criminal impersonation and fourth-degree grand larceny, felonies.

Now, Westchester County and Peekskill police want to know if there are other victims.

"Although we realize it is an embarrassing situation, we are urging anyone else who was victimized in this way to contact the Westchester County police," county Public Safety Commissioner George N. Longworth said in a statement.

"We believe that there may be more victims of this scam."

The confidential police tip line is 877-220-3560. Tips may also be emailed to TIPS@WCCOPS.COM.

The two suspects often changed the online ad and the phone number they used to arrange dates, making it difficult to identify them, police said.

The ads included no photograph of the woman who was supposedly offering sex for money.

When two men showed up on separate occasions in Cortlandt to meet her, the suspects identified themselves as Westchester County police detectives and told the men they were under arrest, police said.

The phony cops then offered not to proceed with charges or impound the men's vehicles in exchange for cash, police said.

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One man paid $1,150, and the other paid $1,080, police said.

The investigation dates to July, when Peekskill police got a tip that a woman was arranging to meet men for sex, then robbing them. When detectives determined the activity was taking place in Cortlandt, they notified county police.

One victim told investigators he agreed to meet the woman at a park, and the other said he agreed to meet her at a motel.

In both cases, Dungie and Thompson accompanied the victims to an ATM to collect the money, police said.

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