Five men posed as utility workers to steal nearly $500,000 from elderly Philadelphians, authorities say
Authorities arrested the men on Wednesday and charged them with conspiracy, theft, fraud, and related crimes.
Five men posing as utility workers targeted elderly Philadelphians in a sprawling fraud scheme that siphoned tens hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims who believed they were settling overdue bills, authorities said Thursday.
Prosecutors said the men contacted dozens of senior citizens, impersonating employees of Philadelphia Gas Works, Peco, and the city water department before obtaining victims’ banking information and draining their accounts.
The men — Winston Haynes, 31; Michael Turner, 44; Anthony Ringgold, 43; Mark Chappell, 39; and Detoine Davis, 41 — worked together to steal money from at least 35 elderly residents and one bank, authorities said.
Callers told residents there had been a problem processing a recent utility payment and that additional information was needed to resolve the issue, Assistant District Attorney Gillian Dagress said during a news conference.
Then, one of the men would arrive at the resident’s home carrying counterfeit business cards and posing as a utility employee to collect payment information, Dagress said.
In some cases, she said, the men left with victims’ debit cards.
The group used the stolen money — nearly $500,000 — to buy personal items and purchase money orders, she said.
Authorities arrested the men Wednesday after a joint investigation by the district attorney’s office, police, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Dagress said.
Each is charged with conspiracy, theft, fraud, and related crimes.
While Dagress described the men as the “architects” of the scheme, she said the investigation remains active — and that the group’s total haul may have exceeded $1 million stolen from as many as 150 senior citizens.
“The investigation only worked because we had all of these victims who were brave enough to contact the police and tell them what happened,” she said.
Authorities urged anyone who believes they may have been targeted in the scheme to contact the district attorney’s office’s elder justice unit hotline at 215-686-5710.