5 men arrested in $132,000 phone scam
They picked up the money in Reading; 11 victims duped
Detectives announced charges against five Bronx, N.Y., men in a phone scam that duped 11 people.
Berks County Detectives Tuesday announced charges against five Bronx, N.Y., men in a phone scam that duped 11 people into sending a total of more than $132,250 that was collected in Reading.
The so-called “grandparent” phone scam targeted and preyed upon grandparents, Chief County Detective Michael J. Gombar said.
The victims reside in California, Florida, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Alabama and Hawaii.
The one thing they have in common is they thought they were paying bail for a grandchild and the suspects picked up their parcels containing cash in Reading, Gombar said.
Although the scam involved no Berks County victims, District Attorney John T. Adams said his office refused to turn a blind eye when detectives learned various locations within the county were being used by the perpetrators to harvest the fruits of their devious labors.
Besides the 11 victims, detectives identified an additional 15 victims from 13 states who lost a total of about $111,000 in the scheme, Gombar said. Those cases were referred to other agencies that have jurisdiction because no part of those schemes occurred in Berks, he said.
The Reading Eagle first reported on the initial arrests in the scam in early October.
The scheme unravels
According to investigators, the case unfolded as follows:
A California man received a phone call on Oct. 5 from a male who identified himself as his adult grandson.
The victim questioned the caller because the voice did not sound like his grandson. The caller explained he was in a car accident while driving to a funeral in Reading.
The caller said he was texting while driving, ran a stop sign, hit another vehicle occupied by a pregnant woman and was arrested for injuring the woman.
The caller asked the grandfather not to call his parents and said he would have his public defender call him.
A few minutes later, the grandfather received a call, purportedly from a public defender who advised him that he needed $6,800 for bail for the grandson and a clean Tshirt for his scheduled court hearing the next day.
The victim agreed to send the package via overnight express to the Reading address given by the caller. The victim also provided the FedEx tracking number to the caller.
The next day, the grandfather received another call from the purported public defender, advising him the pregnant woman’s fetus had died and the grandson was being charged with manslaughter.
The caller told the grandfather that he would be receiving a phone call from his boss.
A few minutes later, another male called and identified himself as a public defender. He requested the grandfather send another T-shirt, a COVID-19 mask and $5,000 overnight to the same Reading address.
The victim went to his bank and withdrew $5,000, but contacted his grandson’s parents and his grandson before sending it. That’s when he realized it was a scam.
The victim made some calls and was connected with the Berks County detective unit.
He agreed to assist in their investigation by sending a package to the same Reading address as he did when he sent $6,800 and a T-shirt.
Three days later, the DA’s detectives and Reading police staked out the location on Walnut Street and saw a vehicle occupied by three men pull up nearby.
One of the men got out and waited by the address, while the other two waited in the car after parking it around the corner.