COCOA BEACH, Fla. – It was an incredible stroke of luck combined with solid detective work that stopped a serial scammer responsible for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe millions, from the elderly across Central Florida, according to police.
It’s the very common “grandparent scam” where con artists trick the elderly into handing over cash by convincing them a grandson or other relative is in trouble.
Just in Cocoa Beach alone, where the 91-year-old victim lives, several seniors have lost money to this scam. One victim handed over $150,000 never to be seen again.
Usually by the time police find out about it, there’s nothing they can do – the scam artist is long gone. But not this time.
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Cocoa Beach Police Detective Sergeant Thomas Cooper explained to News 6 how it all started with a phone call out of the blue to the 91-year-old that led her to putting $7,500 cash in an envelope and handing it off to a Lyft driver who showed up at her door.
“Well the caller says it’s her grandson who was involved in a car crash,” Cooper said. “During this car crash, people were injured. And he [the grandson] also received injuries during this car crash. And he needed to post bond so he could get out and get medical treatment.”
Cooper said the elderly woman went to the bank immediately and withdrew $7,500 cash. It was only after she put the cash into an envelope and handed it to the Lyft driver that she decided to call her grandson and discovered, surely enough, he was uninjured and had not been in a car accident.
She then called Cocoa Beach PD to report the fraud. Deborah Regan-Smith, Cocoa Beach police crime analyst, met the elderly woman at her home.
“She was angry with herself for falling for it,” Regan-Smith said. “She had told me that they had tried over the years. She’s gotten sketchy phone calls and always knew and hung up. And she didn’t understand in her mind why this was different. He just caught her unaware, she was not expecting it.”
While Regan-Smith and Det. Sgt. Cooper were at the 91-year-old’s home, her phone rang again.
“That’s when another call comes in from the suspect, stating that the female that was in the other car was pregnant and has passed away,” Cooper said. “So he wants more money. $5,000. And at that point she had already gotten in touch with her real grandson. Who told her grandma he’s fine, he was at work.”
So detectives put together a second envelope – this time without any cash – and handed it to a second Lyft driver. While they were following the driver from Cocoa Beach to Orlando, they got a phone call out of the blue.
They learned they were hunting down a big fish. The small town detectives had unraveled a ring that crisscrossed the country. The suspected scammer, Jose Polanco-Batista, was on the radar of police departments across the U.S., even the F.B.I., according to detectives.
Once the Lyft driver arrived at the Orlando home, the S.W.A.T. team obtained a warrant and stormed the house. They did what no other agency had been able to do up until then – arrest Polanco-Batista and break up the “grandparent scam” ring, according to Cooper.
“The subject was in possession of multiple cell phones,” Cooper said. “Over 10. So that’s potentially over 10 victims at least, he’s calling victims with different cell phones. Or maybe some victims with the same cell phone.”
Cooper said detectives have seized Polanco-Batista’s bank accounts and should be able to return the 91-year-old’s money. He said other seniors who’ve been similarly scammed should contact him at 321-868-3251.
“Let’s be real, it’s not like this guy is the head of the organization, but he is definitely the linchpin that connects all of these people who’s taking this money from victims and dispersing them to the people up at the top,” Cooper said. “And I think this put a huge dent in their organization.”
That’s the good news.
The bad news is Polanco-Batista bonded out of jail in Orange County two days after his arrest in January before he could be extradited to Brevard County to face charges and has since disappeared. Police think he fled to the Dominican Republic.
Cooper has a warning for seniors:
There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you hang up on someone – they’ll call you back if it’s important enough!
To protect yourself, do not answer your phone unless the caller’s number is programmed in your phone.
If you’re expecting a phone call – like from a doctor’s office – write down the number so you’ll recognize it when the phone rings.
For most seniors, there’s no reason anyone they don’t know should be calling. And if it’s important, they’ll leave a voicemail.
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