NYC Scammer Targeting Seniors In Fake Bail Scam
A con artist defrauded a 74-year-old man from the Upper West Side, stealing nearly $10,000 by falsely claiming that his son required bail money—similar to a scheme that targeted another senior in the same neighborhood a month prior, according to the police.
In the most recent incident, on September 15th around 12:30 p.m., the septuagenarian received a call from an individual who alleged that his son had been arrested, was unreachable, and needed bail for release, as per the police.
However, the victim’s son had not been arrested, clarified law enforcement.
Under false pretenses, the scammer coerced the victim into meeting him at West 62nd Street and Riverside Boulevard, where the victim handed over $9,500 to the fraudster, the NYPD reported. The heartless thief then fled the scene in a black SUV.
The NYPD released surveillance images on Tuesday night of the suspect, a white-haired individual, and his getaway vehicle, hoping to identify him.
This incident occurred approximately three weeks after another scammer defrauded a 78-year-old woman of the same amount of money, as per police reports.
In that case, the elderly woman received a phone call at her Upper West Side residence from a man posing as her grandson, who requested $9,500 for bail, according to authorities. She agreed, and the scammer arranged for a courier to collect the money about an hour later.
Both of these incidents closely resembled a scheme from 2020, allegedly orchestrated by Anthony Rosario Mendez in Brooklyn, according to prosecutors. Mendez, posing as a lawyer, informed grandparents that their grandchildren had been arrested and required bail money, as per the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. He swindled several victims, aged 74 to 90, out of thousands of dollars, with bail amounts ranging from $3,000 to $20,000, authorities said.
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