Elon Musk-Impersonating Florida Man Allegedly Scams Woman Out of $250,000

A 56-year-old Florida man was arrested earlier this month in connection with an alleged $250,000 scam targeting a 74-year-old Texas woman. To pull it off, police say, the man pretended to be Elon Musk on Facebook.

Per a news release from the Bradenton Police Department, Jeffrey Arthur Moynihan, Jr. is accused of operating a Facebook account using Musk’s likeness. Last year, the victim, who is not named in the police statement, friended the account in question, at which point multiple messages were traded across a period of several months. Ultimately, the elderly woman was allegedly told she stood to make $55 million with a sizable investment “in Musk’s businesses.”

Citing financial records, police allege the woman transferred at least $250,000 to accounts associated with the Musk impersonator and his business. Noted by Bradenton officials is that this figure could, in reality, be significantly higher. In fact, the victim’s husband is quoted as saying that his wife actually sent the fake Musk roughly $600,000.

Moynihan, said by police to be the owner of a painting and pressure washing-related business, was arrested for alleged grand theft in the Bradenton area on Nov. 19. The investigation into the alleged scam operation remains ongoing.

Musk-impersonating scammers are prevalent at the moment. Just this week, a CBS News report cited a study as having determined Musk to be the public figure most often seen in a more modern-leaning form of scammery, i.e. deepfakes.

Meanwhile, the real Elon Musk will soon be co-heading what’s been billed as a regulations-targeting advisory board under Donald Trump, who’s set to return to the White House in January.