Man Scammed 77-Year-Old Kansas Woman Out Of $15K: Police

LINDENHURST, NY - A Farmingdale man was arrested on Tuesday for scamming a 77-year-old Kansas woman out of $15,000 after falsely claiming her grandson was in jail, according to Suffolk Police.

Abel Hernandez, 21, knocked on the front door of a home on North Kings Avenue in Lindenhurst at 9:45 a.m. and asked the homeowner for a package that allegedly belonged to him, police said.

The resident became suspicious and called police after Hernandez was unable to properly identify the name on the package.

When officers arrived, they discovered the package contained $9,900 cash, police said.

On Saturday, a separate package had been delivered at the same home and it was given to Hernandez by another resident after he claimed the package belonged to him, police said.

An investigation revealed the money belonged to the 77-year-old woman from Riley, Kansas, police said.

Detectives worked closely with the Riley County Police Department and discovered the victim was told her grandson was in jail in New York for driving while intoxicated.

The caller claimed to be an employee of the Public Defense Department and requested $6,500 from the woman to keep the her grandson out of jail.

After receiving the first package, another call was made to the woman claiming the bail amount had increased and she sent an additional $9,900 in cash.

The second package, containing $9,900 was intercepted by officers.

When Hernandez was arrested, he had $5,300 in his pocket from the original package, police said.

Detectives recovered more than $15,000 of the woman's money.

Hernandez was charged with two counts of grand larceny. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

Photo: SCPD