Osokam Ekufia of Newark charged with defrauding Massapequa law firm with bogus check, police say

A New Jersey man has been charged with defrauding a Massapequa law firm out of $77,500 in a case dating to last October, Nassau police said.

The unidentified Massapequa law firm received a cashier’s check for $84,620 on Oct. 5, 2022, that was to be placed into an escrow account, according to Nassau detectives. When the check cleared, the law firm was told to transfer $77,500 to its TD Bank account.

Two days later, the firm was notified by the bank that the $84,620 check was fraudulent and that it had suffered a loss of $77,500, police said.

An investigation led to an arrest warrant for Osokam Ekufia, 44, of Newark, who surrendered to police Wednesday.

Ekufia is charged with a felony count of grand larceny. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at Nassau County Court in Mineola, police said.