MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) - Police in Connecticut say a man charged over the weekend with trying to fraudulently buy more than $23,000 worth of cellphones and other electronics falsely claimed to be an informant for the New York City police.

The Hartford Courant reports that Middletown police responded to a Verizon store at about 6 p.m. Saturday after being told a man was trying to buy the items with Florida identification.

The suspect said he was working with New York police. Middletown officers checked with New York City police, who said the man was not an informant.

Police charged 49-year-old charged Lasyah Palmer with larceny, identity theft and other offenses.

Palmer's case wasn't listed in online judicial records and it was not clear of he has a lawyer.