A 78-year-old New York woman was cheated out of nearly $10,000 in bail
An elderly Manhattan woman was conned out of nearly $10,000 last month by a heartless man who posed as her grandson and told her he needed bail, police said Wednesday.
According to police, the 78-year-old grandma received a call at her Upper West Side home on August 23 from a man who identified himself as her relative and asked her for $9,500 for bail.
She agreed and the fraudster arranged for a courier to pick up the money about an hour later, police said.
The man was driving a white Toyota with a New York license plate and the victim was able to take a photo of him before he drove away, according to the NYPD, which released the image Wednesday.
It wasn’t the first time that elderly New Yorkers have fallen victim to bail fraud.
In 2020, Anthony Rosario Mendez carried out a similar scheme in Brooklyn, posing as a lawyer and telling grandparents that their grandchildren were arrested and needed bail, prosecutors said.
He defrauded several thousand victims ages 74 to 90, with bail ranging from $3,000 to $20,000, according to authorities.
“Never agree to give money without contacting your grandchild, his parents or another relative to determine whether they are OK,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said at the time.
“And report any suspicious advertising to law enforcement.”
