MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – An 83-year-old woman says she was duped by a scammer who made her think her son was in trouble.
“I was taken for a fool,” the victim, who Local 10 News is not identifying, said. “I want to send him the message that this is not the right way to obtain money. He should get a job.”
On Thursday, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrested Jason Cruceta, 40, of downtown Miami, who deputies said was involved in the scam. He is accused of fraud and stealing from the elderly.
In court Friday, Miami-Dade prosecutor Nessa Eth called the case “pretty awful.”
The woman said she received a phone call last month from someone pretending to be her adult son, claiming he had been in a car wreck and was put in jail.
The caller instructed her to contact a specific attorney, who turned out to be a phony.
“The ‘attorney’ was very professional and helpful and he was gonna talk to the DA, very helpful,” the victim said.
The person on the phone told her to take out $8,600 and give it to a courier who would arrive at her Westchester-area home. The courier was a Lyft driver who had no idea what was really going on.
“They sent this guy and he picked up the $8,600 and away he went,” the victim said.
Investigators say the Lyft driver’s vehicle had cameras, which filmed the delivery of the cash to an address in northwest Miami-Dade. They said the video helped deputies identify Cruceta.
“The defendant does have a pretty significant criminal history. He did three years, it looks like, for drug trafficking,” Eth noted in court.
The victim later called her son and realized he was fine.
“I was happy on one side but I was mad and sick and furious,” she said.
Investigators believe there may be more people involved and potentially more victims.
“They are good actors. They operated very good. They should be in Hollywood or Broadway,” the victim said.
Cruceta ended up at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center instead, where he was set to be released Friday on a $7,500 bond.
The victim took issue with that bond amount, noting that it was less money than he was accused of stealing from her.
Experts say to always be skeptical if you get a similar call.
The victim said she wishes she had just called her son herself before sending the money.