Fake Cops Steal $10K From Washington Heights Woman, Police Say

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The NYPD is searching for two women wanted for police impersonation and robbery in Washington Heights, police told Patch.

On Aug. 17, two women pretended to be police officers in order to gain entry to a 78-year-old woman's apartment, located near West 189 Street and Wadsworth Avenue, police told Patch. The women, who wore police shields around their neck, told the 78-year-old victim that they were searching for somebody who lived in the apartment, police said.

The 78-year-old woman told the two fake cops that the person they were looking for wasn't home, but let them come inside to search the apartment anyway, police said. Once the two women conducted their search and left the apartment the victim realized $10,000 in cash was missing from one of the home's bedrooms, police told Patch.

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The two accused thieves fled the building heading west on West 189th Street, police told Patch.

The suspects are described as women with black hair in their late teens or early 20s, police said. One woman was wearing a black shoulder bag, a white long sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black shoes during the robbery. The other suspect was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and black shoes during the robbery, police said.

Neither police impersonator actually dressed up in an NYPD uniform, police told Patch.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) y 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) para Español.

Photo by NYPD