Cops are looking for a duo who recently conned a 90-year-old woman in Astoria out of $7,500 over the phone.
According to police, at 9 a.m. on Aug. 14, the victim received a call on her home phone from an unknown individual claiming to be a relative who had been involved in a car accident. He went on to tell the senior that he was arrested and needed money to be bailed out of jail.
Law enforcement sources said that the first suspect then put another unknown man on the phone. He told the victim that he was a lawyer and that she needed to provide $7,500 in cash for bail.
At 4:30 p.m. that day, authorities said, one of the suspects arrived at the victim’s apartment on 36th Avenue and collected the money. It was later determined that the victim’s loved one was not involved in a motor vehicle accident, nor did he have any contact with law enforcement, and further never contacted the victim.
The suspect who collected the money is described as white man standing 5 feet, 9 inches to 5 feet, 10 inches tall. Currently there is no description of the other suspect.
Police released the following images of the suspect:
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
