Upper Darby man charged in scam targeting senior citizens

UPPER DARBY >> An Upper Darby man has been arrested in connection with a telephone scam that fleeced township senior citizens out of almost

$400,000 in cash, officials said. Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Sunday morning that Richard Otoo, 36, of the 200 block of Glendale Road was charged with four counts each of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property for his part in a national scam effort. Otoo was arrested Saturday after police did surveillance on a property that was to receive a package full of cash from one of the schemes. A search of his home yielded three packages that contained a combined

$28,000.

Otoo was remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Concord for failing to post bail at 10 percent of $250,000.

According to Chitwood, Upper Darby police have been tracking cash deliveries into the township since the summer. The affidavit of probable cause said the investigation leading to Otoo’s arrest picked up in early October when the department was reached by a Washington police department saying a couple was contacted by a federal agent who had their grandson in custody on drug charges and needed money for bail. They sent $14,500 in cash and then another $12,500 in cash for a supposed lawyer to a residence on the 400 block of Woodcliffe Road.

When the couple was asked for more money on top of that, they became suspicious and contacted local police.

A week later the New York State Police contacted the department and a similar scam was played against a woman. She was told that her son was in an accident and was being arrested for drug possession, and then the grandson’s “lawyer” said more money was needed after her grandson had “gotten into more trouble due to the police finding a gun in her car.”

This woman sent $14,000 in cash to the same Woodcliffe address as the Washington couple had.

The affidavit said police went to the property to see if the packages were there after confirmation of delivery and they were not.

Upper Darby police were notified by New York State Police on Oct. 12 that another package was on its way to Woodcliffe Road which was being sent overnight by UPS.

On Oct. 13, Upper Darby police, Homeland Security and the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division started to surveil the area around 6:30 a.m. At 8 a.m., Det. Christopher Karr witnessed a black car driving down that block of Woodcliffe Road twice. Around 8:40 a.m., a UPS truck dropped off a package at the front door of the residence. Det. Phil Lydon wrote in the affidavit that he checked the tracking number assigned to the package they were expecting and it was confirmed online that the package was successfully delivered.