Woman extradited to city in scam case

STAMFORD — A woman about to board JFK flight bound for a Christmas vacation in her native Dominican Republic was detained and extradited to Stamford Tuesday for what police said was her alleged involvement in stealing $7,225 from a Stamford grandmother.

Nicole Cisneros-Dipre, 24, of Yonkers, New York, was charged with seconddegree larceny and released

after posting a $20,000 court appearance bond. Police said she was involved in a con called the “grandson scam.”

It could not be determined if Cisneros-Dipre had hired an attorney and she could not be reached for comment.

Lt. Tom Scanlon said the telephone scam targets the elderly.

“The Stamford Police Department strongly encourages people to avoid making hasty decisions regarding financial transactions, or even gift card purchases, that may appear urgent at the request of another party,” Scanlon said. “People should take information from the requester, consult with family and friends, and then follow up with the requesting person to better determine their legitimacy.”

According to Cisneros-Dipre’s two-page arrest affidavit, an 83-year-old Shippan woman called police on May 7, 2019 to report that she had been duped and sent $7,225 to someone who called and claimed they were trying to get the woman’s grandson out of jail.

The caller told her to wire the money to Nicole Cisneros of Yonkers, the arrest affidavit said. When the woman made contact with her grandson after sending the money she realized she had been scammed, the affidavit said.

Through a search warrant, financial crimes investigator Michael Stempien determined the money was wired into a Bank of America account belonging to Cisneros-Dipre on May 6, 2019 and $6,887 was withdrawn a day later, the affidavit said.

After police contacted her, Cisneros-Dipre claimed the money came from an online boyfriend, the affidavit said.