Man arrested for hacking into company's email to steal $60K as part of romance scheme, deputies say

HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. - A Daytona Beach man was arrested for hacking into a construction company's email account and stealing more than $60,000, according to the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say the case dates back to December 2020, when Taufiq Kailani, 47, pretended to be an employee with a company based in the Big Bend area, using a fake bank letter to convince another company based in Sebring to wire the money into a bank account. The two companies had been working on a project together.

HCSO says the account that received the money was opened by an elderly person Kailani had befriended as part of a romance scheme. That victim withdrew the money and sent it to the suspect.

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Kailani was booked into the Volusia County Jail. Records show he has since bonded out.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement assisted HCSO in the investigation.

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