ALBANY — A 24-year-old Bronx man was sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to what authorities say is a local version of a “grandparents scam.”
Kelvin Pichardo was arrested in Yonkers in October, 2019, after he called an elderly Colonie Colonie resident and pretended to be a grandchild in need of bail money. A “bait package” was sent downstate and Pichardo was arrested when he attempted to pick it up.
Police identified Pichardo via surveillance video that showed him trying to pull a similar scam on a Towers of Colonie resident on Sept. 19, 2019. He ultimately admitted to stealing more than $3,000 from the tower’s resident, who is over the age of 60, and attempted to do the same to a Broderick Street resident six days later.
In both cases he “targeted victims due to their ager and gained access to their funds by pretending to be a grandchild in need of financial assistance,” said District Attorney David Soares in a statement.
Pichardo was sentenced by Albany County Judge Andra Ackerman after pleading guilty to the felony of attempted grand larceny as a hate crime.
Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Mastaitis of the Financial Crimes Unit prosecuted.
