Hispanic arrested for defrauding old woman to "get her grandson out of jail" by calling from New York to another state | The State
Anderson Espinal Corona
Photo:
Suffolk County Police / Courtesy
Anderson Espinal Corona was arrested on Long Island as a suspect in a new case of telephone scam, under the modality of asking elderly people for money to pay bail for alleged relatives.
The arrest occurred one day after New York Attorney General Letitia James warned older people about the so-called “grandparent scam.”
Espinal’s apparent victim was an 80-year-old woman from North Carolina, who asked for $ 5,200, falsely telling her that her grandson had been arrested for driving while intoxicated and that he needed to send money for his bond, county police said. Suffolk (NY).
Espinal (28) was arrested on Thursday and charged with attempting to grand theft in third grade. He is scheduled to be tried in the First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.
Authorities said the unidentified 80-year-old woman received a call Wednesday from a person claiming to be her grandson who had been arrested for drunk driving after an alleged car accident that left one injured.
The caller then put another on the phone who said she was an attorney and needed $ 5,200 to release her grandson, police said in a statement. The grandmother received instructions to put the money in a book in a box and send it by mail to the address of Greenlawn Terrace, where Espinal lives.
Suffolk County financial crime detectives intercepted the package, removed the money and allowed the box to be delivered. When Espinal, who lives at that address, went to pick it up, they arrested him. The money will be returned to the victim.
The widespread phone scam is aimed at older people who receive calls from usurpers posing as a grandchild in trouble and asking them to send money immediately to “fix” the situation or to dictate their card numbers. Usually They say the alleged relative was arrested and needs to post bail, or is financially distressed because of a need or assault.
In other cases, the scammer may pose as the same relative, or as a lawyer, a surety or a law enforcement officer who communicates with the grandfather on his behalf, he detailed. Newsday. Most calls are made in the middle of the night or early in the morning when the victim may not be attentive enough to ask questions, said James
New Yorkers are urged to be alert and if they have been the target of scams to file a complaint before the Office of Protection and Consumer Fraud of the Attorney General’s Office or by calling 800-771-7755.
SCAM ALERT: New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a warning about a scam that is targeting grandparents during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/n94jos0YOd
– 7 Eyewitness News (@WKBW) January 6, 2021
A Long Island man is accused of trying to scam a grandmother out of thousands of dollars. https://t.co/UuODXdhP2y
– CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) January 8, 2021
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