Elon Musk impersonator from Bradenton arrested for scamming elderly woman [Video]

BRADENTON, Fla. — A 56-year-old Bradenton man was arrested on Wednesday after police say he impersonated Elon Musk online to scam an elderly woman.

Jeffrey Arthur Moynihan, Jr., 56, is charged with defrauding the 74-year-old Texas woman out of $250,000, but the actual sum could be much higher.

In 2023, police said the victim befriended “Elon Musk” on Facebook. They exchanged messages for several months before he offered her an investment opportunity since they were “friends.”

“He suggested that if she gave him $500,000, he could turn that into $55 million,” Detective Jim Curulla said on Thursday.

Curulla, a veteran detective now working in the department’s Elder Fraud Unit, was contacted by a detective in Frisco, TX who was investigating the case, tracing $250,000 of the victim’s money to accounts in Bradenton.

Curulla took over the case, and followed the money.

Financial records showed deposits totaling $250,000 made into two bank accounts owned by Moynihan and his business, Jeff’s …