Woman pleads not guilty in bad check case
Nydia Vega, 63, leaves court after prosecutors accused her of being a high-society con artist. (Sept. 2, 2010) Credit: Asbury Park Press / Mary Frank
A woman posing as a wealthy Hamptons widow passed bad checks to buy tires for her Porsche, take limo rides and purchase furnishings for her Westhampton rental home, Suffolk prosecutors said Tuesday.
Nydia Vega, 63, who was described by prosecutors as a longtime con artist when she was arrested last year, was arraigned in Suffolk County Court on new charges that she fleeced East End businesses of more than $15,000 worth of goods and services while living in Westhampton in the summer of 2009.
Vega pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a 13-count indictment charging her with fourth-degree grand larceny, petty larceny, theft of services, issuing a bad check and scheme to defraud. She remains held in the Suffolk County jail on $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail.
An attorney for Vega could not be reached for comment.
In September, Vega pleaded not guilty to bouncing $50,000 in checks to buy a motorcycle, patio furniture and lingerie.
The new indictment says that Vega also issued bad checks in May 2009 to pay for new tires and a wheel alignment for her Porsche Carrera at Rubio Premier Motors in Speonk, prosecutors said.
The following month, she used a bad check for $2,325 at Hampton Nursery & Landscapes in Hampton Bays, prosecutors said.
On June 19, 2009, Vega used $1,407.78 worth of bad checks to rent cars from Red Tie Limousine Service in Westhampton so that she and friends could attend a benefit in Southampton, prosecutors said.
Vega also used fraudulent checks to pay $10,000 to a contractor and to buy merchandise from Rumrunner Home, a furnishings store in Wainscott and Southampton, prosecutors said.
