A pair of Bronxites are facing jail time after they were accused of fleecing an elderly New Jersey resident out of nearly $10,000, telling the woman her nephew had been arrested for hitting a pedestrian and driving while intoxicated.

 

On Thursday, March 31, as first reported by Newsbreak, Hamilton, N.J. Police Lieutenant Manish Gautam confirmed the arrest of Claremont residents Raul Santos-Marte, 39, and Karina De Los Santos-Polanco, 34, both of Morris Avenue, The Bronx, who are accused in the scam which took place on Tuesday, March 1.

 

According to the Hamilton Police Department, the suspects called the unidentified victim on March 1, and one of the two identified himself or herself as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, supposedly representing the victim’s nephew. The couple told the woman her nephew had been involved in a motor vehicle collision and had struck a pregnant woman while drunk driving. They claimed they needed $9,800 to release the woman’s nephew from jail.

 

After the victim came up with the cash, Santos-Marte and De Los Santos-Polanco traveled to Mercer County, New Jersey where they met the woman and picked up the money. Upon realizing her nephew had not, in fact, been arrested, and that she had been scammed, the elderly woman called police who quickly tracked down the pair. Both suspects turned themselves in to police on Monday, March 21, when they were arrested and charged with theft by deception and were briefly held at the Mercer County Corrections Center.

 

After learning of several other recent arrests of different Bronxites by the Hamilton Police Department, Norwood News asked Gautam for more information about the arrests. He replied, “Yeah, it seems it comes in droves.” When asked if the arrests were part of an organized crime network based in The Bronx and operating in Mercer County, he replied, “Who knows at this point?”

 

In reference to the specific charges facing Santos-Marte and De Los-Santos-Polanco, Gautam explained, “It’s in the initial stages right now so, like, as far as indictments, right now, that hasn’t happened yet, so they were basically taken from here, processed, and sent over to the workhouse, which is our correctional facility, and from there the judge basically makes a determination if they get held or released, and from what I understand, they have been released.”

 

Gautam added of the elderly victim, “It isn’t just the initial shock of the phone call, but it’s also knowing that you’ve been duped.” Gautam credited Detective Nicholas Schulte with cracking the case, adding, “He worked extremely hard on the case.” The Hamilton P.D. is asking anyone with information on the suspects to contact police at (609) 581-4030.

 

Attempts to reach Santos-Marte and De Los Santos-Polanco at the Morris Avenue apartment they share in the Claremont section of the borough, were unsuccessful.

 

An arrest is not an admission of guilt and both suspects remain innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.