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Vikram Singh, 22, and Devraj Devraj of South Ozone Park have been charged with theft by deception, criminal use of a communication facility, and two counts of theft by extortion in connection with the scheme.
The police first became aware of the 78-year-old's situation when a neighbor called the Strasburg Borough Police Department on Sept. 15. Officers reached out to the woman who explained that a man called her cellphone claiming to be with the DEA, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office. She went on to tell the officers that the caller claimed to transfer her call to a so-called sergeant who told her"she could either hire an attorney and handle the case publicly – which would last 2-7 years – or she could keep it private and have her assets picked up and secured by the government," as stated in the DA's release.
The woman followed the phony sergeant's commands, withdrawing thousands from her bank account and putting the money in the back of the men's car after they drove to her home.
Strasburg Borough Police Department Chief Nick Ferretti notified Lancaster County Detectives who intercepted a phone call on Sept. 21 where the men attempted to get the woman to do this money drop again the following day.
That's when Strasburg and East Lampeter Township Police, along with Lancaster County Detectives, SERT, and Sheriff’s Department conducted an operation, finding Singh and Devreaj in the car that was described in the phone call the previous day.
One of the men fled on foot from a uniformed SERT Officer but was apprehended.
"Information recovered through interviews, the vehicle, and cell phone data showed the defendants were not legally in the United States and were currently in removal proceedings and on immigration bonds," the DA explained. "Further information obtained through the investigation indicates the scam operation stems from a contact in New York City who would text the defendants information outlining time, date, and location of pick-up points for money and then direct them to multiple drop-off points throughout NYC and other states."
The defendants were arraigned Saturday and have a tentative preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 6.
Lancaster County Detective Stanley Roache filed charges against the men, which were approved by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo.
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