Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty To Running Grandparent Scams
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn man charged with running a scam that preyed on the elderly has pleaded guilty.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors promised Allah Justice McQueen a prison sentence of 15 to 21 months.
Man Pleads Guilty To Running Grandparent Scams
McQueen admitted to swindling 17 grandparents across the country out of tens of thousands of dollars, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
In one case, a 79-year-old grandparent received a call from a man identifying himself as a police sergeant, claiming that the victim's grandson had been arrested after drugs were found in a car in which he was a passenger.
Then somebody sounding like the grandson was put on the phone to ask for help. The concerned grandparent did not hesitate and sent $6,000 in bail money as directed, only to learn later the grandson had not been in trouble at all.
"Allah Justice McQueen showed no justice to his elderly victims," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said when McQueen was charged in December. "Instead, he exploited the emotions of vulnerable grandparents by convincing them that those they loved were in trouble and needed money. Not only did he allegedly swindle grandparents out of thousands of dollars, he also caused them considerable emotional distress."
