'Kind Hearted' Nutley Woman Scammed Out Of Life Savings: Police

NUTLEY, NJ — A “kind hearted” Nutley resident was recently scammed out of her life savings by a woman she thought she was helping, police said Monday.

Two Lyndhurst residents were arrested and charged with fraud in connection with the scam, which was carried out over a period of several months, according to Nutley Police Director Alphonse Petracco and Chief Thomas Strumolo.

Petracco and Strumolo released more details about the alleged scam:

“Nutley police are investigating a fraud in which a resident met a woman on the social media app Nextdoor, leading her to believe she was in dire need of money. On Nov. 22, a 76-year-old Nutley woman called police when she realized she was being scammed. Police were able to arrest 25-year-old Gabriela Mendez and 28-year-old Michael Zicaro of Lyndhurst when they came to her home to take an additional $7,000 of her money. The victim reportedly gave the woman a large sum of money over the past several months.”

Mendez and Zicaro were charged with fraud; detectives have launched an investigation to determine if there were other victims, authorities said.

Petracco said it appears that a “kind hearted woman” tried to help someone she thought needed money, only to be “deceived, defrauded and bilked out of her life savings.”

Strumolo said the scam is an example of a “classic fraud” that manipulates the victim’s emotions to obtain money.

Nutley police have issued repeated warnings about fraud in the township in the recent past, including schemes similar to the above case. Catch up with a few of them below (click headlines to read article):

• Nutley Resident Dodges Phone Scam Involving 'Grandson'
• Nutley Police Help Clifton Woman Avoid $40,000 Phone Scam
• Nutley Store Owner Saves Senior From Getting Scammed, Police Say
• Nutley Resident Avoids Phone Scam From Fake 'Police Officer'

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