An alert UBER driver helped State Police uncover a scam that involved an elderly couple from Ithaca.
Last Tuesday morning, State Police Sergeant John Beattie at SP North Syracuse received a call from an Uber driver who stated he just picked up a package from an elderly couple’s residence in the City of Ithaca, which contained a large amount of money. Based on prior experience, the Uber driver believed the money may be the proceeds of a scam and wanted to report it to the police. The Uber driver provided his intended destination for the package was Onondaga County.
Sergeant Beattie relayed the information to members of the Troop D Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), including members from the Violent Gang & Narcotics Team (VGNET) and Community Stabilization Unit (CSU). Within thirty minutes of the initial phone call, State Police members were surveilling the Uber driver and the scheduled delivery location.
At 12:15pm, the Uber driver delivered the package, which contained $23,000 in U.S. Currency, and State Police members took the recipient of the package into custody for questioning. State Police located a second subject at a nearby motel after it was revealed through the investigation that the two subjects were associates of each other and staying in the same motel room. A consent search of the motel room resulted in the discovery of additional U.S. Currency.
The Uber driver met with Investigators, who were able to identify the address where the money was picked up from, in the City of Ithaca, and members of Troop C BCI responded to the couple’s residence, confirmed the elderly residents were victims of a scam and were led to believe the $23,000 was for bail money for their nephew.
As a result of the investigation, 39-year-old Yoelvis Reyes, and 45-year-old Mario Escalante, both of Hialeah, Florida, were charged with felony criminal possession of stolen property. Both were released following their arraignment.
In total, over $34,000 in U.S. currency was recovered.
