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VALHALLA, N.Y. Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno reported Wednesday that a string of money fraud incidents against senior citizens in the area have increased recently.
This is the type of thing that has occurred frequently lately and we cannot urge people enough to not send money, Alagno said.
The type of fraud comes from unknown individuals who contacts residents, mostly elderly, posing as a relative or loved one over the phone who is in dire need in a distant or foreign location. The individual then asks for an amount of money to be wired to them via Western Union.
The most recent incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 6 as a 77-year-old Chappaqua man reported that an unknown individual called his household around 9 a.m. posing as the mans grandson. The individual requested that the Chappaqua resident wire $2,500 dollars to him as he had been arrested in Las Vegas and needed bail money. The resident followed the instructions and subsequently lost the wired money. After realizing that his grandson was not in Las Vegas, the man notified Mount Pleasant police.
Alagno said multiple similar incidents occurred recently to Hawthorne residents. Although the fraud is a nationwide issue, he advised Mount Pleasant residents to be wary if they receive such calls and to immediately report them to police.
The following items were also reported by police:
-A group of six female minors, all residents of Hawthorne, were arrested by Mount Pleasant Police on the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls campus and charged with assault after an alleged altercation in the early hours of Jan. 6. A 16-year-old and 17-year-old in the altercation were charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and will be tried as adults. The other individuals, two 15-year-olds and two 14-year-olds, were charged as juvenile delinquents and will appear in family court.
-Workers at Thornwood Wines & Liquors reported to Mount Pleasant Police two separate theft incidents over the weekend. Police said on Jan. 5 around 4:30 p.m., a worker reported that a customer, described as a black female in her 20s with shoulder-length hair, shoplifted a bottle of Hennessey Cognac by placing the bottle in her purse and leaving the store without paying. An employee also reported to police that a customer stole his or her black Apple iPhone on the morning of Jan. 4. Police said the phone was reportedly stolen while it was placed on the stores counter unattended. No arrest has been made in either case.
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