Cops: More charges for man in $350K shed scam

EAST HAMPTON — A 40-year-old man was arrested for another computer scam police say netted him more than $40,000.

Over the past seven years, police say the suspect, Demetrios Elias Katras, has been involved in similar thefts totaling nearly $350,000. Katras, of Comstock Trail, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging him with firstdegree larceny.

He was previously arrested in October 2016 and this past January for similar crimes involving a fraud centered on wooden garden sheds.

The 2016 arrest stems from the theft of approximately $85,000 and the January arrest involved the theft of nearly $55,000, authorities say.

Tuesday’s arrest stems from an investigation begun in August by Sgt. Paul Battista and Officer Hardie Burgin.

“Katras used similar fraudulent scenarios as he had in the past to defraud victims while operating under various business names on the internet,” Police Chief Dennis Woessner said in a news release.

“The similarities in all prior fraudulent instances involve Katras offering sheds for sale, taking deposits for the sheds, and not delivering the shed. In all these cases, Katras had operated using numerous business names,” officials said.

Other similar activity involved Katras ordering large amounts of lumber from out-of-state companies and not paying for it, according to police. He allegedly orchestrated the scam from his home, but in doing so, “made his victims believe his business was based in another state.”

He is being held in lieu of $150,000 bond and due back in Superior Court at Middletown May 22.

Katras