West Hartford Police took custody of the suspect following an investigation that took more than a year.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Police said a suspect involved in the scamming a local business has been extradited from Georgia and is now in custody in Connecticut,

According to Capt. Aaron Vafiades, West Hartford Police received a report on June 18, 2025 involving fraudulent activity on a West Hartford business’ bank account. “The complainant reported receiving a scam phone call from an individual pretending to be a Webster Bank employee identifying themselves as fraud managers of Webster Bank. During the scam, the business lost $50,000 to the suspect,” Vafiades said.

West Hartford detectives, following an investigation that lasted more than a year, identified the suspect as Junior Astre, 41, of Loganville, Georgia.

Police were able to obtain an extraditable arrest warrant for Astre, and charged him with first-degree identity theft, second-degree money laundering, first-degree larceny, criminal impersonation, and second-degree telephone fraud.

According to Vafiades, West Hartford detectives took Astre into custody on Aug. 5 at the Gwinnett County (Georgia) jail. He was extradited to Connecticut and arraigned Friday at GA#14 in Hartford. He remains in custody on $100,000 court-set bond and due back in court on Sept. 15, according to online court documents.

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