Tenzin Yignyen, a Tibetan Buddhist monk who has taught in the United States for 20 years, returned to the Ross School in East Hampton last week, where he constructed and later dismantled a sand mandala.

The mandala, a balanced, multicolored geometric composition, is a tool, Mr. Yignyen told students, with which to express the importance of compassion and a good heart. “In schools, I use it as a tool to teach people spiritual practice, how to live an ethical life, and how to develop inner qualities such as compassion, patience, contentment, and so forth,” he said.

With his parents and siblings, Mr. Yignyen fled Tibet at age 2 when Chinese forces, which had occupied the independent country since 1950, crushed an uprising. Along with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and, until recently, political leader of the Tibetan people, he lived in exile in Dharamsala, India. He studied at Namgyal Monastery, the Dalai Lama’s personal monastery in Dharamsala, and was selected to teach at the monastery’s North American seat in Ithaca, N.Y., in 1995. He is now a professor of Tibetan Buddhist studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.

After the mandala is completed, it is dismantled and the sand is poured into a body of water. “After we fulfill our purpose, we let it go,” Mr. Yignyen said, as a reminder of impermanence. “Nothing lasts forever,” he said. “So enjoy what you have but don’t try to hold on to it.” Also, he said, “Love without attachment is much more pure and strong. To teach that nonattachment and impermanence, we always dismantle the mandala.

Two East Hampton Town trustees, one of whom is seeking re-election in November, have attended fewer than half of the board’s meetings in 2015 and a third, whose attendance has waned, has decided this will be her last term for the time being.

Complaints have begun to come from a small but growing number of residents who attend the twice-monthly meetings. The nine-member trustees manage many of the town’s beaches, waterways, and bottomlands on behalf of the public and are elected to two-year terms.

At the trustees’ meeting last week, a resident of Lazy Point in Amagansett, a community whose negotiations over the land they lease from the trustees have sometimes turned contentious and even hostile, referred to the four absent trustees as “disrespectful to us” and “an insult.” Two letters in today’s Star refer to the trustees’ attendance records.

Nathaniel Miller, a two-term trustee seeking re-election, has attended 8 of the body’s 18 meetings this year, most recently on July 14. Stephen Lester, who has served seven terms and said yesterday that he is not seeking re-election, also attended 8 of 18 meetings this year, and has missed 4 of the last 5.

Stephanie Forsberg, the trustees’ assistant clerk, will not seek re-election either. She has attended 10 of 18 meetings in 2015, most recently on Aug. 25. All of the other six trustees have attended at least 15 meetings, and Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, or presiding officer, has not missed a meeting this year. 

An inquiry into trustees’ attendance at their meetings, however, has uncovered another matter, one with which the board has prior experience. Since the early summer, the boat and fishing equipment belonging to Mr. Miller, a 13th-generation bayman, has been vandalized repeatedly, Mr. Miller said this week.

“Things haven’t been good,” said Mr. Miller, whose boat is moored off Lazy Point. “It’s costing me a lot of time, money, anguish, nervousness. . . . I’m laying low because my personal property and what I do for a living is in jeopardy. Let people throw stones.”

He believes he is being targeted as a direct consequence of trustee actions, and implied that moves to tighten limits on shellfish harvesting is the reason. He has been vocal in warning his colleagues about poaching. Before last fall’s scallop season opened, he said poaching was “spiraling out of control” because of inadequate enforcement.

Two years ago, Mr. Miller’s boat, mooring line, nets, and truck were vandalized multiple times. He thinks someone else was responsible for those incidents.

The Donald Lamb Building in Amagansett, where the trustees meet, was also vandalized in 2013. That November, the scallop sanctuary on the east side of trustee-managed Napeague Harbor, which was set up by the town’s shellfish hatchery with the trustees’ assistance, was breached and the bottomland uprooted.

Mr. Miller said the birth of a child lastmonth and the serious illness of two close relatives had affected his attendance. But until the person or persons targeting his property are apprehended, he said, “I’m very afraid of making decisions. My boat has been let loose, a lot of bad stuff has happened. . . . If it becomes a choice between me being a trustee and my boat floating, I’m going to choose my boat.”

Mr. Lester said attending meetings was important, and that he did not feel he has missed too many. He underwent surgery early this year and consequently missed the year’s first three meetings, and he said yesterday that he has been ill for the past few weeks. He declined to comment on his decision not to seek re-election.

Ms. Forsberg said her decision to leave the board was due in part to her full-time employment with the Hampton Bays School District. “I definitely have missed a few meetings,” she said on Tuesday, “but I can say that I’ve given, in my opinion, eight great years of service.”

Attendance at meetings is only part of a trustee’s responsibilities. “What the public doesn’t know is I do a lot of work out of the office,” Mr. Miller said. “I still pull out moorings, call code enforcement, check on this, do that.”

Ms. Forsberg agreed. “I don’t think I’m doing a disservice” by missing several meetings, she said. “A lot happens between meetings. When I’m there, I give 150 percent.” She said she may run again for trustee if and when her schedule allows.

As presiding officer, Ms. McNally admitted to some frustration over her missing-in-action colleagues, but defended their commitment to the job, citing their work in the field and on subcommittees. “Certainly I think a major part of our strength comes from our discussion at the public table, where you have a majority vote,” she said. “That I have colleagues missing out on their ability to put forth their feelings is personally disappointing.”

That said, “I do understand that life happens,” she said. “It has been a very difficult time for several of them.” Referring to the protracted negotiations over Lazy Point leases, however, she added that “it’s equally disturbing that it came at a time when we had such a difficult issue to discuss.”

“Being a publicly elected official,” Ms. McNally said, “people expect to see you publicly. I think that’s something perhaps I need to step up my own game on — to say ‘let’s get here.’ ”

By Christopher Walsh

Two East Hampton Town trustees, one of whom is seeking re-election in November, have attended fewer than half of the board’s meetings in 2015 and a third, whose attendance has waned, has decided this will be her last term for the time being.

Complaints have begun to come from a small but growing number of residents who attend the twice-monthly meetings. The nine-member trustees manage many of the town’s beaches, waterways, and bottomlands on behalf of the public and are elected to two-year terms.

At the trustees’ meeting last week, a resident of Lazy Point in Amagansett, a community whose negotiations over the land they lease from the trustees have sometimes turned contentious and even hostile, referred to the four absent trustees as “disrespectful to us” and “an insult.” Two letters in today’s Star refer to the trustees’ attendance records.

Nathaniel Miller, a two-term trustee seeking re-election, has attended 8 of the body’s 18 meetings this year, most recently on July 14. Stephen Lester, who has served seven terms and said yesterday that he is not seeking re-election, also attended 8 of 18 meetings this year, and has missed 4 of the last 5.

Stephanie Forsberg, the trustees’ assistant clerk, will not seek re-election either. She has attended 10 of 18 meetings in 2015, most recently on Aug. 25. All of the other six trustees have attended at least 15 meetings, and Diane McNally, the trustees’ clerk, or presiding officer, has not missed a meeting this year. 

An inquiry into trustees’ attendance at their meetings, however, has uncovered another matter, one with which the board has prior experience. Since the early summer, the boat and fishing equipment belonging to Mr. Miller, a 13th-generation bayman, has been vandalized repeatedly, Mr. Miller said this week.

“Things haven’t been good,” said Mr. Miller, whose boat is moored off Lazy Point. “It’s costing me a lot of time, money, anguish, nervousness. . . . I’m laying low because my personal property and what I do for a living is in jeopardy. Let people throw stones.”

He believes he is being targeted as a direct consequence of trustee actions, and implied that moves to tighten limits on shellfish harvesting is the reason. He has been vocal in warning his colleagues about poaching. Before last fall’s scallop season opened, he said poaching was “spiraling out of control” because of inadequate enforcement.

Two years ago, Mr. Miller’s boat, mooring line, nets, and truck were vandalized multiple times. He thinks someone else was responsible for those incidents.

The Donald Lamb Building in Amagansett, where the trustees meet, was also vandalized in 2013. That November, the scallop sanctuary on the east side of trustee-managed Napeague Harbor, which was set up by the town’s shellfish hatchery with the trustees’ assistance, was breached and the bottomland uprooted.

Mr. Miller said the birth of a child lastmonth and the serious illness of two close relatives had affected his attendance. But until the person or persons targeting his property are apprehended, he said, “I’m very afraid of making decisions. My boat has been let loose, a lot of bad stuff has happened. . . . If it becomes a choice between me being a trustee and my boat floating, I’m going to choose my boat.”

Mr. Lester said attending meetings was important, and that he did not feel he has missed too many. He underwent surgery early this year and consequently missed the year’s first three meetings, and he said yesterday that he has been ill for the past few weeks. He declined to comment on his decision not to seek re-election.

Ms. Forsberg said her decision to leave the board was due in part to her full-time employment with the Hampton Bays School District. “I definitely have missed a few meetings,” she said on Tuesday, “but I can say that I’ve given, in my opinion, eight great years of service.”

Attendance at meetings is only part of a trustee’s responsibilities. “What the public doesn’t know is I do a lot of work out of the office,” Mr. Miller said. “I still pull out moorings, call code enforcement, check on this, do that.”

Ms. Forsberg agreed. “I don’t think I’m doing a disservice” by missing several meetings, she said. “A lot happens between meetings. When I’m there, I give 150 percent.” She said she may run again for trustee if and when her schedule allows.

As presiding officer, Ms. McNally admitted to some frustration over her missing-in-action colleagues, but defended their commitment to the job, citing their work in the field and on subcommittees. “Certainly I think a major part of our strength comes from our discussion at the public table, where you have a majority vote,” she said. “That I have colleagues missing out on their ability to put forth their feelings is personally disappointing.”

That said, “I do understand that life happens,” she said. “It has been a very difficult time for several of them.” Referring to the protracted negotiations over Lazy Point leases, however, she added that “it’s equally disturbing that it came at a time when we had such a difficult issue to discuss.”

“Being a publicly elected official,” Ms. McNally said, “people expect to see you publicly. I think that’s something perhaps I need to step up my own game on — to say ‘let’s get here.’ ”

The idea that the federally owned Plum Island should be preserved and protected, not sold to the highest bidder and developed, found widespread support on Monday during a public hearing on the island’s future.

The hearing, held at Brookhaven Town Hall and convened by New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright, the chairman of the Assembly’s environmental conservation committee, attracted testimony from elected officials, environmental experts, and advocates from all over the East End and Connecticut. Their hope is to reverse a federal order, passed in 2009 and amended in 2012, that has mandated the sale of the 843-acre Plum Island to partially recoup the costs of decommissioning the existing Plum Island Animal Disease Center and building a new research facility in Kansas.

“To order it sold, as if it’s a piece of meat, is something I was very disappointed to learn about,” Mr. Englebright said.

Plum Island is considered a gem by many on the South Fork for the natural resources on and around it — such as migratory bird habitats that have drawn more than 200 species and the abundant fishing off its coast — as well as its historical significance and scientific and economic importance.

“We have support for protection from the local to the county to the state to the federal level,” Bob DeLuca, president of the Group for the East End, which is a co-founder of the Preserve Plum Island Coalition, said on Tuesday. “We seem to have a lot of leadership from both sides of the Long Island Sound. I think that bodes well for us. . . . The overall message was a good one. The broader you make the coalition, the greater the chance it will succeed.”

During his testimony on Monday, Mr. DeLuca said the nearly $100 million in federal tax money invested over the years in the facilities and infrastructure of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center would essentially be thrown away if the structures were razed by a private developer. He said the Group for the East End supports an academic repurposing of the research center, for instance as a facility to study clean energy or marine science.

“For those of us who have been closely involved in evaluating both the resources and operations at Plum Island for more than a decade, the idea that the developed portion of the island is somehow a crumbling and obsolete researchacility with little or no potential for adaptive reuse is a narrative that, while convenient for those looking to sell the island, simply does not fit the reality of what Plum Island offers as a potential center for research and innovation,” Mr. DeLuca said.

Scott Russell, the supervisor of Southold Town, of which Plum Island is part, said about 400 jobs — half of which are filled by employees from Long Island, the other half from Connecticut — are at risk if Plum Island is sold and the research functions cease. Southold Town has already zoned the island for research and preservation purposes in such a way that residential and other developed uses of the land are specifically prohibited. He said the town “will do everything we can to keep it the way it is,” for example by replacing the existing animal disease research center with, as Mr. DeLuca suggested, a renewable energy research center, or some type of technology incubator.

The rest of the island, Mr. Russell said, “is a de facto preserve now, and we’d like to see it stay that way, with limited, responsible public access.”

Suffolk County Legislator Al Krupski, whose district includes the North Fork and Plum Island, said he is asking his colleagues in the Legislature to sign a letter supporting the preservation of the island, rather than its sale.

Kevin Dowling, a legislative assistant to Representative Lee Zeldin, said Mr. Zeldin has picked up on the work of his predecessor, former Representative Tim Bishop, to push for its preservation. Mr. Dowling pointed to the work done by the state on Governors Island in New York City as a potential template for the preservation of Plum Island. Governors Island was sold to the state by the Coast Guard for $1, negotiated by then-President Bill Clinton, who used his executive power of monument-making to do so near the end of his tenure in office. The island was then placed into a private, not-for-profit trust that manages the land. New York City currently operates a ferry service to Governors Island for visitors.

“We want to prevent the sale of Plum Island, but if it was for sale to the state or a nonprofit, that would also be good,” Mr. Dowling said.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said “the will of the public” favors preservation of Plum Island. As her evidence, she pointed to the community preservation fund legislation that has successfully been used to preserve open space, which she said has amounted to more than 116,500 acres in Suffolk County so far.

“The public has said time and time again, ‘Let’s invest in preserving natural resources, let’s invest in preserving land, let’s invest in saving the Long Island Sound,’ ” Ms. Esposito said. “This is exactly the type of land we’ve been buying for the last 25 years. . . . The public wants this type of preservation.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a Springs woman early Tuesday, charging her with being part of a scheme that used local banks and local addresses to defraud seven elderly people across the country of nearly $700,000 by convincing them they needed to pay taxes and fees before claiming bogus sweepstakes winnings.

The F.B.I. is also searching for an East Hampton man and a Hampton Bays woman in connection with the alleged scheme.

Ana P. Leon, 50, also known as Ana P. Gonzalez, was taken into custody at her house at 112 Sycamore Drive in Springs early Tuesday morning, according to Kelly Langmesser, a spokeswoman for the F.B.I.’s New York office. Ms. Leon was arraigned in front of United States Magistrate Judge Steven A. Locke in the U.S. District Court on Tuesday afternoon. Her alleged accomplices, Ivan D. Pelaez, 51, of East Hampton, and Sandra E. Leon, 47, also known as Sandra E. Chavarria, of Hampton Bays, are now on the F.B.I.’s wanted list.

The two women are sisters, Ms. Langmesser said. All three are Costa Rican natives who are legal residents of the United States.

The trio opened multiple bank accounts in Amagansett, East Hampton, and Manhattan and set up post office boxes in all three, the United States attorney’s office for the Eastern District said in a release on Tuesday.

Using a series of aliases, they then began contacting elderly people across the country, telling them they had won a sweepstakes, according to the complaint filed in court Tuesday by Victor Gerardi, a special agent with the F.B.I. The scam was in operation from September 2012 to June 2014, the complaint says.

The seven alleged victims were from Georgia, Utah, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin. Because it is an ongoing investigation, Ms. Langmesser would not comment on how investigators believe the seven were chosen.

The complaint describes the alleged victims, identifying them only by numbers. All but one were 80 or older. One, who was 90, has since died. Agent Gerardi, who has been with the force for over 20 years and specializes in various forms of fraud, said in the complaint, that the three would take turns, using a variety of aliases, telling the victims that they were the winners of a sweepstakes. The three used cellphones with the 202 Washington, D.C., area code, frequently stating that they were with government agencies.

Most of the victims were told they had won $3.5 million and needed to pay taxes and fees before they could receive the money. All seven victims complied, sending checks to post office boxes in Amagansett, East Hampton, and Hampton Bays, as well as a Manhattan address, 440 East 78th Street. Ms. Langmesser said the operation was mainly run from East Hampton and Manhattan.

One victim was taken for $250,000, another for almost $200,000.

The banks at which the three set up accounts were Wells Fargo, Bridgehampton National Bank, Chase, Bank of America, and Citibank.

Investigators from Wells Fargo’s fraud unit became suspicious in the fall of 2013 after a relative of a victim who had paid almost $250,000 to an account in the name of Ana P. Leon contacted the bank. Ms. Leon had given 4 Rowman Court in Springs as her address.

The bank then called the number it had on file for Ms. Leon, who allegedly answered. When she was asked what the money the victim had paid out was being used for, Ms. Leon reportedly said that she could not talk because she was in an airport and hung up. The agent said that the F.B.I. is in possession of video from the bank showing Ms. Leon making a withdrawal from the account in August 2013. It is not clear from the complaint whether the trio closed the account after that or not. It is also not clear whether that investigation is what brought the F.B.I. into the picture.

Mr. Pelaez allegedly used a 16 Bay View Drive, East Hampton, address to open a post office box and bank accounts. That property is owned by Olivia Pelaez, according to the complaint.

The specific charges against Ms. Leon were unsealed during her Tuesday afternoon arraignment. According to Nellin McIntosh, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office, Ms. Leon was remanded without the possibility of bail.

The three are each facing charges of mail and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit those crimes, Ms. McIntosh said.

Six relatives of Paul Hansen, the Noyac man killed in an Aug. 30 car crash, were in Southampton Town Justice Court on Thursday when Sean P. Ludwick, who is accused of leaving the crash scene and of drunken driving, made a brief appearance. Mr. Hansen was a passenger in Mr. Ludwick’s car.

Mr. Ludwick's demeanor was quite different from his last time in the court, Sept. 4. On that occasion, he sat in the back row counting out bills from a thick wad of cash. He left the courthouse that day wearing dark sunglasses, with his hands behind his back, as if handcuffed.

Outside the courthouse this time, accompanied by his new lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, Mr. Ludwick frequently looked down at the ground, appearing contrite.

"We are very much aware of the tragic consequences of this accident," Mr. Brafman said, as Mr. Ludwick, a real estate developer who lives in Manhattan and Wainscott, stood next to him, hands in his pockets. He remained silent throughout. "We intend to address the issues responsibly. We extend sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Hansen," said Mr. Brafman, who has represented a number of celebrities in trouble with the law, including Sean Combs, Michael Jackson, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Mr. Brafman told CNN in 2012 that he instructs his clients to "be quiet for the next few years. You have to take it on the chin." When New York magazine did a feature on him some time ago, another veteran lawyer, Paul Shechtman, said that "what Ben manages to do is wrap his clients in his own credibility. Jurors wind up saying that the defendant couldn't be that bad if Ben's speaking for him."

Meanwhile, in a conference room in the courthouse, the Hansen family's lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., was speaking with the assembled relatives. When the group emerged, Mr. Burke, a friend of Paul Hansen from childhood, introduced his brother, Bob Hansen, to the press, saying he would make a brief statement and would not take questions.

"We are highly confident in the investigation that is ongoing," Mr. Hansen said. "We appreciate all the work they are doing, and we clearly understand that this is going to take some time. But, at the end of the day, we are looking for justice to be served, and we are confident that that will happen."

During the brief court proceeding, Mr. Brafman waived his client's constitutional right to a speedy trial. "I have been speaking with Mr. Prudenti," he said, referring to John Scott Prudenti, head of the Suffolk County vehicular crime unit, and "I don't think the lab reports are ready." He asked that Mr. Ludwick's next court date be in November, and Justice Kooperstein set Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, for Mr. Ludwick's next court appearance.

Besides testing the defendant's blood for alcohol and other drugs, District Attorney Thomas Spota's office is also testing the clothes he was wearing at the time of the accident. When Mr. Ludwick was first arraigned, on the day of the accident, he was wearing a plastic jumpsuit, his clothing having been confiscated as potential evidence by Southampton Town police.

While Justice Kooperstein was quite clear that Mr. Ludwick must appear on all court dates, it is possible that his next appearance could be in State Supreme Court in Riverside, for arraignment on the one felony he is charged with thus far, leaving the scene of a fatal accident. He might face other felony charges as well, including assault with a deadly weapon, a car, and vehicular manslaughter.

Mr. Ludwick is currently free on a $1 million bond.

Update, 5:10 p.m.: The well-known chef and author Anna Pump, 81, was struck by a pickup truck as she was crossing Montauk Highway near the Bridgehampton Post Office Monday evening. She died from her injuries at about 10 p.m. that night, Southampton Town police said Tuesday. Ms. Pump had reportedly just returned from Manhattan via the Jitney.

The Bridgehampton Fire Department arrived on the scene within minutes. It happened to be holding a departmental meeting at the time, about 7:30, and brought out the heavy rescue truck after receiving a report that Ms. Pump was pinned under the pickup. She was taken to Southampton Hospital by a Bridgehampton Fire Department ambulance crew.

Police said she was walking north in the crosswalk by the Bridgehampton Post Office. 

Ms. Pump, the author of several cookbooks, including the popular "The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook," first published in 1987, was a partner in Loaves and Fishes in Sagaponack, the Loaves and Fishes Cookshop in Bridgehampton, and the Bridgehampton Inn and Restaurant, not far from where the accident occurred.

The driver of the 1997 Dodge Dakota pickup truck that hit Ms. Pump was identified as Luis Ortega, 40, of Water Mill. He was arrested and charged with circumventing an interlock device, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and failing to yield for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. He was "sent for medical treatment," police said, and released from custody. He is due back in court in November. 

Originally, 1:29 p.m.: A woman died after being struck by a westbound pickup truck on Montauk Highway near the Bridgehampton Post Office on Monday evening at about 7:30, Southampton Town police said.

The woman, whose identity police have not yet released, had reportedly just returned from a trip to Manhattan aboard the Hampton Jitney.

According to the police, the driver of the truck, whose name has also not been released, was cited for driving a vehicle lacking an interlock ignition device, required due to a previous driving while intoxicated conviction. He was not cited for any violations related to the accident, but the investigation is ongoing.

Police ask that anyone with information about the incident contact the Southampton Town detective squad at 728-5000.

A two-vehicle crash in Sag Harbor early Saturday evening resulted in the death of one of those involved. Ross Pryce, 51, of Sag Harbor, died while being airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital.

According to Sag Harbor Village police, Mr. Pryce, who was heading north on a Suzuki motorcycle, apparently crossed over the double yellow line on Hampton Street near the intersection of Lighthouse Lane, crashing head-on into a southbound 2013 Mercedes-Benz being driven by Barbara Reuter, 69, of New York.

When police arrived, Mr. Pryce was lying in the roadway, breathing, but unconscious. Members of the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps attempted to stabilize Mr. Pryce, police said, and took him to Havens Beach, where the helicopter met him.

A passenger in the car, William Williams, whose age and hometown were not released, was taken to Southampton Hospital. Ms. Reuter was not hospitalized, according to the police, who did not issue any citations.

Police are still investigating the accident. Both the motorcycle and the car were impounded.

It was a first for emergency responders in Sag Harbor when a drone crashed on Tuesday evening. 

Sag Harbor Fire Department Chief Tom Gardella said he knew the call was out of the ordinary when dispatchers didn't quite say what kind of investigation he was responding to at 6:12 p.m. One of his captains, who had already extinguished the flaming drone that landed on the sidewalk in front of the Sag Harbor Variety Store, quickly called to explain. He was met with "dead silence" from the chief. "That's not something you see every day." 

An aerial photographer had been piloting the drone to take pictures of the Watchcase condominiums, according to The Sag Harbor Express, when "a mechanical failure" occurred, the chief said. The drone hit the facade of the buildings that house Banducci, Katz, and Ferraris, an accounting firm, and the Sag Harbor Variety Store. The drone smashed into the buildings about 20 feet from the ground, bounced off, and hit the sidewalk, near a tree in front of the store. 

"Nobody got hurt. Thank God," Chief Gardella said. There was very minor damage to the building, but the drone was completely destroyed. 

The chief called the East Hampton Town fire marshal's office to make a report.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a Springs woman early Tuesday, charging her with being part of a scheme that used local banks and local addresses to defraud seven elderly people across the country of at least $697,000. The F.B.I. is searching for an East Hampton man and a Hampton Bays woman in connection with the alleged scheme.

Ana P. Leon, 50, also known as Ana P. Gonzalez, was taken into custody at her house at 112 Sycamore Drive in Springs. She was scheduled to be arraigned in front of United States Magistrate Judge Steven A. Locke in the U.S. District Court on Tuesday afternoon. Ivan D. Pelaez, 51, of East Hampton, and Sandra E. Leon, 47, also known as Sandra E. Chavarria, of Hampton Bays, are now on the F.B.I.’s wanted list.

The trio opened multiple bank accounts in Manhattan, Amagansett, and East Hampton, as well as mailing addresses in all three, the United States Eastern District Attorney’s office said in a release on Tuesday.

Using a series of aliases, they then began contacting elderly people across the country, telling them they had won a sweepstakes, according to the complaint filed in court Tuesday by Victor Gerardi, a special agent with the F.B.I. The scam was in operation from September 2012 to June 2014, the complaint says.

The complaint details seven victims, all but one 80 or older. One, who was 90, has since died. It is not clear from the complaint how they selected their victims, who were all living in different states. Agent Gerardi, who has been with the force for over 20 years and specializes in various forms of fraud, said the three would take turns, using a variety of aliases, telling the victims that they were the winners of a sweepstakes. The three used cellphones with the 202 Washington, D.C., area code, frequently stating that they were with government agencies.

Most of the victims were told they had won $3.5 million and needed to pay taxes and fees before they could receive the money. All seven victims complied, sending checks to post office boxes in Amagansett, East Hampton, and Hampton Bays, as well as a Manhattan address.

One victim was taken for $250,000, another, almost $200,000.

The banks at which the three set up accounts were Wells Fargo, Bridgehampton National Bank, Chase, Bank of America, and Citibank.

Investigators from Wells Fargo’s fraud unit became suspicious in the fall of 2013 after a relative of a victim who had paid almost $250,000 to an account in the name of Ana P. Leon contacted the bank. Ms. Leon had given 4 Rowman Court in Springs as her address.

The bank then called the number it had on file for Ms. Leon, who allegedly answered. When she was asked what the money the victim had paid out was being used for, Ms. Leon reportedly said that she couldn’t talk because she was in an airport and hung up. The agent said that the F.B.I. is in possession of video from the bank showing Ms. Leon making a withdrawal from the account in August 2013. It is not clear from the complaint whether the trio closed the account after that or not.

Mr. Pelaez allegedly used a 16 Bay View Drive, East Hampton, address to open a post office box and bank accounts. That property is owned by Olivia Pelaez, according to the complaint.

The specific charges against Ms. Leon were to be unsealed during her Tuesday afternoon arraignment.

Tentative budget numbers released last Thursday by East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell call for $73.5 million in town spending next year, up from $71.5 million. The proposed $2 million, or 2.76-percent, increase will be offset in part by $910,000 in savings, reducing the amount to be raised by taxes and keeping it below the New York State mandated 2-percent cap.

“The 2016 budget increases enforcement personnel and our ability to enforce the law and codes throughout the community,” Mr. Cantwell said in a press release. That, Mr. Cantwell said, “will allow the town to more effectively identify and prosecute abuses, reduce the occurrences of violations by increased presence, and refine the adopted codes and ordinances with strong new legislation.”

The total amount to be raised by taxes would increase by $176,732 or 1.8 percent. Because assessed values have increased, however, tax rates would rise by 1.67 percent for the majority of residents, to $29.38 per $100 of assessed value. For those with a house valued at $1 million, that would equal $34.

Tax rates would increase by only .48 percent for those who live within East Hampton or Sag Harbor Villages, with a $4 increase estimated for those with million-dollar houses, and the proposed tax rate at $11.69 per $100.

While the board “made great strides” this year toward that goal, the supervisor said, the tentative budget for next year “funds permanent staffing to ensure we continue this positive momentum.” In addition, the supervisor said the tentative budget addresses “planning needs for infrastructure improvements.” Meanwhile, he said, the budget maintains “strong financial and budgetary controls that have resulted in the town achieving its highest credit rating in nearly 10 years.”

If adopted as proposed, one fire marshal, one code enforcement officer, and three additional police officers would be hired. Along with positions filled this year, including a new assistant town attorney and a new building inspector, salaries and benefits would come to $625,000.

These positions, Mr. Cantwell said in his budget message, “will improve the town’s ability to identify violations, enforce the codes, prosecute offenders, and draft new legislation.” The hires will bring the number of Ordinance Enforcement Department officers to 7, and police officers to 65.

The budget adds two seasonal Parks Department workers to expand summer garbage and litter programs, as well as $825,000 for part-time seasonal help and overtime costs in the Marine Patrol and Police Departments.

Mr. Cantwell’s budget would make use of just over $1 million from surplus funds and reserves. At present, all of the town’s major funds, except for the scavenger waste fund, are in the black, with surpluses ranging from 21 to 34 percent. At the close of 2016, increases in most of those surplus amounts are anticipated, except for the highway and airport funds, with the latter expected to decrease by 2 percent. The $322,271 deficit in the scavenger waste fund this year would go down by $100,000, to $222,271, under the tentative budget.

Overall town indebtedness is projected to decline, from $104 million to $98 million, under the tentative budget. In recent years, the town has reduced its debt payments by keeping new debt — borrowing for capital projects —  below the amount that is being paid off each year. That policy, as well as refinancing existing debt to take advantage of lower interest rates, will achieve a $315,000 savings next year.A reduction in mandated state retirement system contributions will save the town $580,000, and closing the scavenger waste processing plant and transfer facility will save $15,000.

 If the budget is approved, the budget in the airport fund would increase next year by over 22 percent, to $5.9 million. Just over $1 million is allocated on the “outside professional” line, up from $270,000 this year. Litigation as a result of the town’s attempts to reduce airport noise is ongoing, and lawyers’ fees would be on this line.

Also included in the budget is $50,000 for engineering for infrastructure improvements, $22,000 to upgrade the town website, and $155,000 for water quality monitoring and improvements.

Outside cultural, educational, and human services groups that would receive funding under the proposed budget include Phoenix House, with $50,000 for its substance abuse counseling. The South Fork Health Initiative, which focuses on mental health, would receive $25,000, and the Retreat, a domestic violence services agency,  $5,000.

Funding for children’s services at the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center is budgeted at $80,000, Project Most, the after-school program, at $35,000, the Montauk Youth program, at $5,000, and the Pediatric Dental Fund, at $2,500.

The East End Disabilities Group would receive $5,000, the East End Special Players, $10,000, and the East Hampton Historical Society, $20,000, earmarked for Second House in Montauk.

The town board will review the budget and discuss suggested changes. A preliminary budget will be the subject of a hearing that, according to state law, must be held before Nov. 15. The budget for next year must be adopted by Nov. 20.