BETHEL PARK. Pa. — Bethel Park police arrested two men in connection to a scam targeting grandparents across our area.
Police Chief Timothy O’Connor said two 83-year-old victims alerted police on Monday of a suspicious call they received from an unknown woman claiming she was a public defender and saying a family member needed bond money.
“And that their son had been in a bad accident, injured a pregnant woman and they needed $12,700 bond to get him out of jail. They would send an area bail bondsman to their home and obtain the money,” said Chief O’Connor.
With the victims help, police were able to take both men into custody and solve this case quickly.
Police say they positioned themselves at the victim’s home where they said a car with a New Jersey license plate pulled up and Wilson Burgos Hernandez got out.
“He came to the door to retrieve the envelope at which time to his surprise he was taken into custody,” said Chief O’Connor.
Police said the driver, Noel Medrano-Abreu was also arrested. Both men are from out of town.
“We are working with multiple local jurisdictions to see if we can tie our actors into any of these crimes that happened around western Pennsylvania,” said Chief O’Connor.
Chief O’Connor said these men could be part of a larger operation.
“We’ve also been in contact with federal authorities, and they are looking to see if they are a part of a larger scheme targeting people beyond Pennsylvania,” said Chief O’Connor.
Right now, Bethel Park police are also working with state troopers and homeland security trying to track down other people involved in this scam. Both men face several felony charges.
This browser does not support the video element.