Albany Man Arrested for Harassment while Pretending to be a Cop

Scam warnings

Local police agencies regularly warn residents about people who may call them, pretending to be police officers who need to speak to them about a "legal matter."

In some instances, the scammer might be quite convincing and prey on the unsuspecting, and that happened recently in Albany County.

State Police in Latham make arrest

According to a press release from the New York State Police, on September 4, 2023, NYS Police in Latham arrested Keshawn M. Bacchus, 22, of Albany for impersonating law enforcement.

The report says that Baccus has been charged with Criminal Impersonation in the first degree, Aggravated Harassment in the second degree, and False Reporting of a crime in the third degree.

What did Bacchus do?

According to the press release, State Police say that on August 19, Troopers got a complaint from a business in Colonie.

During the investigation, it was learned that Bacchus was running a scam where he reportedly contacted the business via email and phone identifying himself as a New York State Trooper and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

While on the phone, Bacchus falsely accused an individual who worked for the business of a crime.

Back in June, Police in Schenectady County warned about a similar thing happening. Has anything like this happened to you?

Here's what to look for:

The department has become aware of a recent scam where an individual states that they work for the Schenectady Police Department.
The person attempting to scam you may use an active officer’s name in an attempt to engage people in conversation.
On messages that have been left, individuals are told that they are involved in a “legal matter”, and then given a phone number to call back. The numbers given do not belong to the Schenectady Police Department.
The department is currently investigating the origins of these calls, which do not appear to be from our area. If you wish to report a call like this, please contact 518-630-0911.

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