A ploy used with older victims to intimidate them and extort money: two in handcuffs
From:
Sardinia Live editorial team
The Flying Squad of the Oristano Police Headquarters, in collaboration with colleagues from the equivalent office of Cagliari, arrested two subjects, resident in Campania, in flagrante delicto, responsible, in collaboration with each other, for the crime of aggravated extortion, perpetrated on damage to an elderly lady over eighty years old residing in the regional capital. Yesterday morning the two arrested today,
They went to the home of an elderly woman from Cagliari, over eighty, and, using the ruse of the fake lawyer and the fake policeman, they intimidated the woman, deceiving her and extorting a few thousand euros in cash, corresponding to all her savings. which the poor victim kept at his home. It happened yesterday morning, with two individuals residing in Campania responsible, who were arrested by the agents of the Flying Squad of Oristano in collaboration with those of Cagliari.
Once the crime had been committed, the two immediately left the city, heading towards central Sardinia, where in the meantime some accomplices contacted other potential victims by telephone who, not falling for the deception, immediately informed the police. Thanks to these reports, the Oristano Flying Squad patrols began searching for the scammers and, after receiving the report from their colleagues in Cagliari, they concentrated their attention on state road 131 near the entrances to Oristano. An activity that immediately bore fruit: in fact one of the patrols on duty in plain clothes intercepted a suspicious car in which there were two men.
After an initial tailing of the car, the police decided to proceed with its arrest and once the two individuals had been identified, since one of them had numerous police records for crimes against property, including the false lawyer scam , as well as a ban on returning to the Municipality of Oristano issued by the police commissioner after the complaint of a scam against the elderly carried out in the hamlet of Silì, proceeded with the personal search of the two and their car. During the search, the cash stolen shortly before from the poor old woman, who in the meantime had gone to the Cagliari police station to file a complaint, was found.
In consideration of the facts, the two were subjected to photo reporting and their photographs were sent to the Flying Squad of Cagliari who showed them to the victim, who, although still in shock and shaken by the incident, immediately recognized one of the two as perpetrator of the extortion against him. For this reason the two were arrested and taken to the Massama prison at the disposal of the judicial authorities. The police commissioner of Oristano issued two expulsion orders against them with a ban on returning to the Province of Oristano for the next three years.
From the complaint presented by the victim it was possible to completely reconstruct the phases of the extortion which began with an initial telephone contact, through which a self-styled member of the Carabinieri informed the woman that her son had just caused a serious road accident , following which an elderly lady, who was now dying, had been hit. The fake soldier claimed that, if the woman wanted to avoid her son being arrested, she would have to avail herself of the services of a so-called lawyer, an acquaintance of hers, who contacted the victim shortly after and, frightening her, ordered her to give all the money she had in the house , in addition to the jewels, to one of his accomplices, who shortly showed up at the old woman’s house and took away all her savings and then quickly left.
Having noticed the scam, also thanks to the intervention of some neighbors, the woman contacted the police who immediately started the search for the criminal. This type of scam – the agents say – appears to be very widespread and mainly targets elderly people, taking advantage of their fragility, for this reason the State Police advises, in such cases and in case of doubt, to immediately contact the number emergency number 112 NUE and ask for the intervention of a police patrol who, thus alerted, will be on site in a short time and will prevent the fraud or, depending on the case, extortion from occurring.
