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Colonie Police said the elderly woman called 911 Wednesday morning, June 22, saying she had received a phone call that she believed to be a scam.
She told police a man had called claiming to be an attorney for her granddaughter and said he needed bail money to get her out of jail.
At one point, the man even put a woman on the phone who pretended to be the victim’s granddaughter, police said.
The suspects reportedly told the woman they would send a courier to her home to retrieve the money. That’s when she called the police.
Several officers were there when the suspect arrived at her home a short time later and attempted to collect the bail money, police said.
"In fact, their granddaughter was not in any trouble, and the call was an attempt to steal money from the victims," Colonie Police said.
The suspect, identified as William Comfort, age 27, of California, was arrested and charged with attempted grand larceny. He already had an arrest warrant out of Wisconsin for a similar crime, according to police.
He was arraigned in the Town of Colonie Justice Court and taken to the Albany County jail.
Investigators believe Comfort is also responsible for at least one other successful scam in the Capital District that netted him a large amount of money, police said.
Colonie Police said there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to contact their investigations division at 518-783-2754.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Capital Region Crime Stoppers.
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