A suspect from Pennsylvania is accused of swindling nearly $17,000 from an elderly man using a phone scam that centered on a fake tale about a car crash.

Police say the suspect, 25-year-old Henri Daniel Jr., called the victim, a former Nassau County resident who now lives in Florida. He told the victim that one of his relatives had been involved in a car crash in Nassau County, and that money was needed to pay legal fees.

Police say the victim sent $8,700 in cash through the mail.

But then the suspect allegedly said he needed more, and investigators say the victim then sent an additional $8,000 to a home in Levittown.

Police say they apprehended the suspect yesterday as he went to pick up the second package of money.

Daniel Jr. is now facing multiple charges, including grand larceny.

It's the latest in a series of similar schemes targeting senior citizens. As News 12 has reported, a Bronx man was recently arrested for stealing more than $100,000 from several elderly Nassau residents.

Officials are now warning people to be on the lookout for suspicious phone calls.

"If you get a call about some cataclysmic thing that's happened, confirm it," warns Nassau County Executive Laura Curran. "Reach out to police, call 911, call a relative. Do not fall for these scammers who are looking to prey on our elderly, our most vulnerable."

Police are urging anyone who thinks they or someone they know may have been the victim of a similar scam to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.