Between December 2019 and February 2020, eight people were scammed out of a total of $74,000, according to the indictment.
A woman in Cranston was hit twice in the same day for $17,000 in February of 2020, according to the indictment. She was told that her grandson had gotten into a fight and would be in jail for seven months if she didn t pay the money. They also tried a third time.
The U.S. Attorney gave the following account of an incident where investigators caught up to the men: According to court documents, on February 18, 2020, a Little Compton resident reported to his local police department that he received a call from a female purporting to be his granddaughter and that she had been arrested and was in need of bail money.
Monday, March 08, 2021
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A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging two Providence men with allegedly running a so-called “grandparent scam” in two states, fraudulently obtaining or attempting to obtain thousands of dollars in cash from at least nine elderly victims by claiming the money was needed immediately to assist a relative, typically the victim’s grandchild or child, who had purportedly been arrested or jailed.
About Scam
It is alleged in the indictment that members of the conspiracy sometimes posed briefly on the telephone as the victims’ relative, sounding upset or ill to disguise their voice, to further persuade the victim to provide the cash. It is alleged that victims were instructed by a co-conspirator posing as an attorney to provide the cash to a courier or bail bondsman that would arrive at their home to collect the cash.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Two Providence men accused of scamming senior citizens in Northborough and Shrewsbury, among other communities, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Providence charging them with running a so-called “grandparent scam” in two states.
The Office of the U.S Attorney for RI announced the charges on Thursday.
The U.S. Attorney s Office for Rhode Island announced Thursday that four men from the Atlanta, Georgia area were charged in federal court in Providence for allegedly operating a long-running scheme in which homeless and transient individuals from the Providence area were recruited to cash counterfeit business checks in exchange for a cash payment.
About Scheme
It is alleged in court documents that homeless individuals enlisted by the Georgia men were driven to financial institutions in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, and elsewhere, provided bogus business checks made out to them, and were instructed to cash the checks using their Rhode Island ID card or driver’s license for identification. The individuals were told to return to the vehicle with the cash and in return were paid between $100 and $200.