LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A number of younger males are accused of operating a so-called “grandparent scam” the place older adults are satisfied a member of the family, typically a grandchild, is in jail and wishes cash to publish bail or pay a lawyer, the 8 Information Now Investigators have realized.
Matthew Acquah, Manuel Rivera and Ashton Turunc face fees related to a minimum of 16 thefts the place the sufferer was over the age of 60, paperwork mentioned.
After convincing their sufferer at hand over giant quantities of cash, “the suspects then [made] arrangements to have a rideshare… to pick up the money and deliver it to the suspects,” paperwork mentioned. In all, police suspect the scheme netted the group practically $186,000.
“There were over a hundred ‘attempts’ where the conspirator would give [the driver] an address, but no […] driver was ever sent,” paperwork mentioned. “Some addresses that were sent were from hours away from the Las Vegas area, including Reno, McGill, NV; Scottsdale, AZ; Fountain Hill, AZ; Washington, UT; [and] Saint George, UT.”
In January 2024, a grandmother obtained a name from an individual she believed was her grandson, paperwork mentioned. The particular person on the decision mentioned her grandson was in jail and he wanted $25,000 for bail, paperwork mentioned. The girl withdrew money from a financial institution and later handed it to a courier.
“After handing the envelope to the driver, she received a second phone call back, from the ‘public defender,’” police mentioned in regards to the rip-off. “The ‘[public defender] explained to [the victim] that her grandson had hit a pregnant lady and was losing the baby. Due to losing the baby, the bond had been raised an additional $10,000 and would be needed to get their grandson out of jail. She then went back to the bank, took out an additional $10,000, and packaged it the same way as the first package. After sending out the package, to a second driver, the caller explained that she would receive a phone call back… to let her know the outcome of her grandson’s case. However, she never received another call.”
One other sufferer took a photograph of a suspect car, main them to a scholar at a Summerlin highschool.
Detectives additionally obtained textual content messages and Snapchat conversations that confirmed members of the group speaking in regards to the thefts and exhibiting giant quantities of money, paperwork mentioned.
In a single photograph, one of many younger males poses with a number of $100 payments after which “kisses the bills and then licks his finger and rubs it over the camera lens,” police mentioned.
As a part of their investigation, Metro detectives found an analogous rip-off in Ventura County, California, they mentioned. In a single case, a lady in her 90s withdrew hundreds of {dollars} from a financial institution, believing a relative wanted “bail money.”
“Both Rivera and Acquah are above the age of 18 during the commission of these crimes,” paperwork mentioned. “Rivera and Acquah were directing and instructing Turunc on where to pick up the money obtained fraudulently from these victims. They also provided Turunc with account numbers to deposit the money and instructed them to keep deposits under $10,000 to avoid reporting from the banks. Both Rivera and Acquah should have known Turunc was a minor due to him being in high school.”
Courtroom paperwork point out Turunc was 17 on the time of the allegations. He faces fees of conspiracy to commit theft and theft, data mentioned.
Acquah and Rivera face fees of conspiracy to acquire cash by false pretense and acquiring cash by false pretense, data mentioned.
The FBI warns grandparents and grandchildren to restrict their social media posts and maintain them non-public, so scammers can not exploit the connection.
Complaints could be filed with the FBI at IC3.gov.
