MOULTRIE COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — A man from suburban Chicago is under arrest and charged in Moultrie County with crimes related to scam calling.

Tracy Weaver, the Moultrie County State’s Attorney, announced on Facebook that Kaushal S. Patel, 30 of Oak Lawn, was arrested for the felony offense of theft by deception on Friday. She said the chain of events leading to the arrest started when the Moultrie County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint of an unknown caller contacting someone multiple times.

According to the complaint, the caller claimed he was a federal agent and that the victim’s identity had been stolen. To pay off an alleged arrest warrant, the caller demanded large sums of money.

Weaver said the Sheriff’s Office later identified Patel as a suspect after an investigation. He was arrested in Lovington on Friday and appeared in court on Monday. He posted a $10,000 bond and was ordered to appear in court for arraignment next month.

Weaver added that additional potential suspects in this scamming scheme are being investigated and more potential victims have been identified in other jurisdictions. Homeland Security Investigations is assisting in the investigation.

In her announcement of Patel’s arrest, Weaver also included a reminder from Gary Carroll, the Moultrie County Sheriff. Carroll reminded people to be aware of phone scams where the caller claims the recipient has an arrest warrant and needs to pay money to avoid jail. People should be leery of answering unrecognized phone numbers and Carroll recommended letting unknown phone numbers go to voicemail.

If a voicemail is left and something seems suspicious, people are advised to contact the Sheriff’s Office or a local police department.