The Medley Police Department announced that on March 27th, officers arrested two New Jersey residents after learning that an elderly and disabled Louisiana resident sent $16,200 cash to an extended stay hotel in the Town of Medley.
Officials say the victim, who resides in Louisiana, was led to believe that his nephew had been arrested in Miami-Dade County and was in immediate need of financial help.
Police arrested Marcos Alamonte-Mejia, 24, of Belleville and Anyulia Recio-Carmona, 28, of Newark and charged them two counts of Organized Fraud, and two counts Attempted Fraudulent Use of Identification.
The alleged fraud started on March 21st, when the victim received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as a Coral Gables defense attorney. The alleged attorney stated he had been assigned to represent the victim’s nephew in a newly-filed criminal case.
The voice on the telephone indicated that it would take $10,000 to have the nephew released from jail on bond. Money was quickly sent to Medley, Florida.
A second request for an additional $6,200 was made to the victim. In many such situations when the first payment is made so easily, alleged perpetrators often move quickly to see if more money can be obtained. After sending the second payment, the victim learned that the nephew was not in Florida and then contacted the Medley Police Department.
Medley police acted quickly, intercepted the recently arrived package, and arrested Alamonte-Mejia and Recio-Carmona.
“I am proud to have my prosecutor work so closely with the Medley Police Department to interrupt these alleged fraudsters,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “Far too often, our elderly citizens are targeted in such telephone rip-offs. The Medley Police Department moved quickly to grab these guys and save a well-intentioned victim from such alleged con-men.”
Chief Jeanette Said Jinete said that “the elderly and disabled are a community’s most vulnerable people. These criminals were taking from this victim’s life savings.
Police remind residents if you ever get a call from or about a friend or relative in supposed danger or trouble and there is an immediate request to send cash – do not act immediately. Tell whomever is calling that you will need to consult another family member first, and then hang up the phone. Then actually check. If there really is an emergency, you can still respond. If there is no emergency, then the only people left complaining will be the criminals.