Westlake Police: Arrests Made in Grandma U-Haul Scam

Westlake Police have arrested two suspects after a U-Haul was used to clean out a grandma in a heartless scam. It is suspected that the pair have scammed elderly victims of more than $150,000. Here is the story:

On 8/26/20 at about 11AM a resident of Santa Clara came to WPD to report that she had been scammed out of a large amount of money.  The 83yo had received a call the day before purporting to be from her grandson. 

The “grandson” said that he had been at fault for a bad traffic accident and needed legal help.  A 2nd male got on the phone claiming to be the grandson’s public defender.  He relayed that the grandson needed thousands of dollars to pay the court to get out of trouble.  The duo talked the concerned grandparent into going to the bank for cash.  When she said that she would not drive into Cleveland to meet outside a Bail Bonds office, the fake lawyer said that as luck would have it they had a courier in the area who could pick up the funds.  The perpetrators added that the grandmother could not tell anyone about the “bond payment” because there was a gag order on the case and she would get into trouble. 

A male driving a 10ft U-Haul truck arrived at the home.  The victim said that he was very polite as he collected the cash and drove away.  The victim was out thousands of dollars.  Investigators are following up with video from the area and comparing notes with other Northeast Ohio police departments who reported having very similar crimes.  Information was sent out to local departments reference the U-Haul which, according to collected surveillance video, had a camel painted on the side.

On 8/29/20 Westlake Detectives followed up on a tip that a U-Haul matching the description was parked in a lot in downtown Cleveland.  After confirming that it was the same vehicle used in the fraud in Westlake, 2 males were contacted who approached the U-Haul and another involved vehicle.  Working with Cleveland PD, Westlake officers found that the duo were in possession of a handgun which had been stolen out of Cleveland.  Airline tickets and other receipts were collected which showed the suspects also moved around Ohio and the US.  Probable cause was developed connecting the 2 Tampa, FL residents to the Westlake Fraud.  They are also suspected being involved in the same type of theft from the elderly in no less than 10 North East Ohio communities along with Des Moines, IA and Racene, WI.  Investigators estimate the group collected over $150,000 from unsuspecting victims.  The two 25 yo males were arraigned in Rocky River Municipal Court and eventually transported to Cuyahoga County Jail to await their felony theft cases.