Man Pretended to be Elderly Westford Woman's Grandson For Money: DA

WESTFORD, MA — A man is facing charges for allegedly setting up a scheme to steal $6,000 from a 79-year-old Westford woman by pretending to be her grandson.

Nnabuike Ibe, 20, of Brooklyn, NY, was charged Wednesday with larceny over $250 from a person over the age of 60 and attempting to commit a crime, according to a press release from the Middlesex County District Attorney.

Ibe is accused of convincing the Westford woman to wire him $6,000 by impersonating her grandson in 2015. Prosecutors say Ibe called the woman and told her he needed the money for bail after being arrested for narcotics possession. Ibe then called the woman pretending to be a police officer to back up his own phony story, prosecutors said.

The Westford woman then wired Ibe the $6,000.

The next day Ibe called the woman saying that police found more narcotics and asked for an additional $7,500, prosecutors said. After the call, the woman called her daughter and discovered that her real grandson had not been arrested, prosecutors said.

“In this case the defendant allegedly preyed upon a woman’s fears that her grandson’s safety was compromised and that he was need of her help,” said District Attorney Marian Ryan in the press release.

“Unfortunately, our office is seeing an increased frequency of so-called ‘grandparent scams,’ designed to financially exploit seniors. This incident is an important reminder that these types of scams flourish in secrecy when potential victims are afraid to alert authorities or their loved ones. If anyone believes that they may be at risk they should not hesitate to contact police.”

Assistant District Attorney David Kete is assigned to prosecute the case.