A Bradenton man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating Elon Musk and scamming a woman out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jeffrey Moynihan, Jr., 56, is facing charges after the Bradenton Police Department says he convinced a 74-year-old woman from Texas to send him large sums of money.
Misleading her to believe she was investing in Musk's ventures, the suspect interacted with the victim over several months on Facebook since 2023. The exchanges promised the elderly victim a whopping $55 million return on investment. According to police reports, at least $250,000 was transferred to bank accounts that were in fact owned by Moynihan and his business, Jeff's Painting and Pressure Washing, LLC, as ABC Action News reported.
Arrested at his Bradenton home yesterday, Moynihan is now facing charges related to the alleged scam. During the arrest captured on bodycam video, local authorities emphasized the ongoing investigation, which suggests that the actual amount defrauded could be as high as $600,000, a figure reported by the woman's husband according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Adding to the gravity of the situation, the Bradenton police's elder fraud unit indicated that individuals over the age of 60 have been victims to fraud cases amounting to nearly $3 million lost in 2024. While discussing the impersonator, police released a statement mentioning that "The real Elon Musk was otherwise engaged with the most recent launch of SpaceX and is not under investigation by BPD," a detail that was shared by WTSP.
The investigation into this case is reportedly ongoing as authorities work to determine the full extent of the alleged fraud.
