Police say a man scammed elderly residents out of $800,000
A New York man is accused of scamming the elderly out of $800,000 by telling them they had to pay taxes on the millions they won in a lottery sweepstakes, reports The Boston Globe.
Vladimir Wilder Merelan, 28, has been charged with mail and wire fraud, according to the Globe. The elderly victims, between the ages of 60 and 90, were told they’d get their money after paying taxes on the winnings.
“None of them have received any of their purported winnings,’’ according to court documents obtained by the Globe.
One victim of the alleged scam was a 72-year-old Taunton man, who officials said sent more than 20 checks totaling over $500,000 to Merelan between 2013 and 2014.
Merelan was charged this week in U.S. District Court in Boston. He was released on unsecured bond by the Boston court Wednesday and told he must report to pretrial probation officials in N.Y. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Merelan has not been assigned a lawyer yet and a date has not been set for his arraignment.
Read the full story in the Globe.
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