VISTA, Calif. -- A 24-year-old Vista man was in custody Friday on suspicion of taking part in an elaborate Internet scam that involved bilking victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, authorities said.

Kevin Harper was arrested at his home in the 800 block of Sycamore Avenue around 4 p.m. Thursday, said Sgt. Mark Varnau of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Harper confessed to authorities that he had been working with people in Nigeria for the past six months to defraud people online, Varnau said.

In the complaint that led authorities to Harper, Harper's accomplices in Nigeria allegedly contacted someone selling a horse online and agreed to purchase the animal. The people in Nigeria instructed Harper to send the horse seller a check and then instructed the seller to wire a portion of that payment to a horse shipper named Kevin Harper.

The check sent by Harper to the seller bounced because it was counterfeit, but the wire payment was valid and Harper kept some of the money and sent the rest to his accomplices in Nigeria, Varnau said.

Harper allegedly told authorities he has sent $600,000 to his Nigerian partners in the past six months, Varnau said.

Investigators seized from Harper's home counterfeiting equipment and a computer with data on everyone who received a fake check from Harper, along with all his correspondence with his Nigerian accomplices, Varnau said.