Port Authority police said Sherwin Shayegan, 34, made the unsolicited contact with the 14-year-old boy around the baggage claim area at Newark Liberty International Airport around 3:10 p.m. Friday, and then gave the victim a note with cash inside, Fox News reported.
“This is money for letting me give you a massage. Thank you,” read the note, which included a $10 bill.
Authorities said the note also contained “alarming content,” but declined to elaborate on the specifics.
Investigators tracked Shayegan’s whereabouts to a hotel near the airport. They allegedly found “disturbing notes” with money in envelopes containing the names of various U.S. airports.
The 34-year-old has a reputation in his home state for making unwanted physical contact with others. The alleged “piggyback bandit” showed up at high school sporting events and convinced student-athletes to give him piggyback rides, according to the New York Daily News.
He also allegedly offered massages to players during games and hopped on athletes’ backs after they got out of the shower while posing as a “team volunteer.”
Officials say Shayegan has been banned from schools in five different states—including North Dakota, Minnesota, Oregon, Montana, and Washington.
He was arrested in 2011 on assault charges for jumping on two soccer players’ backs. Shayegan received a yearlong suspended jail sentence and paid a $730 fine for that incident.