NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y. — Scams against the elderly are nothing new as crooks look for ways to make a buck the wrong way. But one New York grandmother decided to play along to help catch a scammer in the act.
The Nassau County Police Department on Long Island shared the story of how the 73-year-old woman, later identified by her first name as Jean by WNBC-TV in New York City, played a role in nabbing 28-year-old Johsua Estrella Gomez on the charge of 3rd-degree attempted larceny.
According to police, Jean was called by a man claiming to be her grandson. The man said he was in jail for drunk driving and needed to contact his lawyer. Shortly after, another man called her claiming she needed to pay $8,000 to bail the man out. Once again, a man called Jean, this time claiming he was the bail bondsman and was in the area to collect bail.
Here's where the story takes its turn: Jean told WNBC she was bored and delighted at the idea of taking down the alleged scammer.
"I played stupid grandma. 'Oh my poor grandson,' I told the guy. 'Please don’t tell his mother,'" she said.
That's when Jean decided to call Nassau County police, and then the trap was set. The supposed bail bondsman was on his way, but police were lying in wait. Then, a man who police said was Gomez showed up.
"Apparently they thought they had the big fish, they actually thought I was gonna give them money," she said.
Jean appeared to give Gomez a check, but in the seconds that followed, her doorbell camera caught what happened next.
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As Gomez walked out the door, police took him down and handcuffed him. Jean told WNBC she didn't even give Gomez any actual checks; she stuffed an envelope with paper towels.
While Jean's son wasn't exactly thrilled about his mother doing this, he still admitted it was "cool" according to WNBC. Then again, perhaps for Jean old habits die hard; she said she was a Nassau County 911 dispatcher for more than 20 years and was just happy to help do her part.
Nassau County police shared Jean's doorbell camera video of Gomez's arrest, using it as an opportunity to ask families to check on elderly loved ones and help protect them from scams.