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Waldy Santiago, age 25, of Providence, Rhode Island, turned himself in at a State Police facility in Westbrook in Middlesex County on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in connection with the alleged scheme, according to Connecticut State Police.
Investigators were initially contacted by a Middlesex County resident in Killingworth on Friday, Aug. 25, reporting an elderly scam.
The 80-year-old victim told detectives that a man identifying himself as their grandson, who was attending college in North Carolina, had called saying he was in a car crash and was arrested for DUI.
A short time later, the victim received another call from someone claiming to be their grandson’s public defender. The voice on the other line informed them he needed $6,500 in cash to bond their grandson out of jail.
The victim went to a bank and withdrew the cash. They were then instructed to split the cash up into seven envelopes, place them into a single box, and tape the box shut.
They were told the reason for separating the cash was to pay the grandson’s bond and cover court fees.
An Uber courier would arrive to retrieve the box, the caller told them. He warned the victim not to reveal the box’s contents to the driver.
After the Uber driver picked up the box of cash, the victim called their grandson who assured them he had not been arrested. Realizing the victim had been scammed, he contacted police.
Investigators were at the victim’s home when the same “public defender” called again, this time informing them that the woman their grandson had struck was pregnant and had lost her baby as a result of the crash.
It would take another $20,000 in cash to get their grandson out of jail and make the case “go away,” the caller told them.
As police listened in on the call, the victim agreed to send the money, which would again be picked up by a courier.
When the Lyft driver arrived, they told detectives that they were sent there by a customer named “Waldy.” The driver agreed to lead police to the prearranged delivery address in Mystic.
Once there, police watched as co-defendant Jose Bautista, age 25, approached the Lyft driver and took the box of purported cash.
Bautista, of Providence, Rhode Island, denied knowing anything about the alleged theft. He told officers he had simply driven from Providence to Mystic, 100 miles roundtrip, to pick up a package for Santiago.
The man told police they could look at his text messages to prove his innocence. After doing so, police determined he had been lying about his involvement and arrested him.
In one text exchange, Santiago tells Bautista to “go right now” and that “the money is ready.”
Detectives uncovered additional messages between the two on WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app commonly used by criminals.
In September 2023, a judge approved a search warrant for cell phone records and phone data from both Bautista and Santiago.
Records showed that Santiago had opened his phone account in March 2023 and closed it on Sept. 6, the same day he was contacted by police.
On Wednesday, Santiago surrendered on charges of criminal attempt to commit larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny.
He was released on $175,000 bond and is due back in court on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Bautista was arrested on the same charges and released on $100,000 bond.
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