Crime & Safety
Arrest Made After New Hyde Park Woman Duped In Bogus Crash Scheme
BREAKING: A woman was arrested after cops say an 88-year-old was tricked into forking over thousands of dollars to help her grandson.
NEW HYDE PARK, NY — A Copiague woman has been arrested after an 88-year-old New Hyde Park woman was tricked into paying thousands of dollars to help her grandson, whom she was told had just been involved in a crash that injured a pregnant woman.
Maria Adames, 25, of Galvani Street, was arrested and charged with grand larceny in the scheme, Nassau County police said Friday morning.
The arrest stems from a May 29 scheme in which an unknown man contacted the 88-year-old victim and told her he was her grandson. He said he'd just been involved in a bad crash and a pregnant woman was hurt. The man told the victim he'd been arrested and gave her a phone number to call, informing her it was his lawyer, police said.
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The victim called the number and was told to pay nearly $10,000 for bail money and an additional $1,200 to prevent the bogus arrest from showing up on her grandson's criminal record.
Adames then showed up at the victim's house to complete the transaction, police said.
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Adames was expected in court Friday.
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