A CT scam used Uber or Lyft rides to collect cash. Then the stakes got higher: police

A Rhode Island man has been charged with scamming an elderly Killingworth resident by impersonating their grandson and claiming to need bail money, police said.

Waldy Santiago, 25, of Providence, Rhode Island, was arrested on Oct. 25 for allegedly using unwitting couriers from Lyft and Uber to pick up boxes of cash from an 80-year-old as part of an elaborate scheme to steal more than $25,000, according to Connecticut State Police. No driver was charged in the case.

Troopers from the Connecticut State Police Troop F Central District Major Crime were called to Killingworth in late August, where the 80-year-old resident reported that they’d gotten a call from a man who claimed to be their grandson, police said in the arrest warrant affidavit for Santiago.

The man told the grandparent  — who was not named in police records — that he had just been in a motor vehicle crash and had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and needed bail money, police said in the warrant affidavit.

The grandparent then got a second call from someone pretending to be their grandson’s public defender, according to the affidavit. That person told them to withdraw $6,500 in cash to pay their grandson’s bail, police said in the affidavit.

The grandparent agreed to pay the bail and went to the bank. While they were there, the man impersonating the public defender called again and told the grandparent to put the cash in seven different envelopes, then put those envelopes into a taped-up box that a courier would come pick up. That courier would deliver the money to the court, the caller said.

A car arrived at the person’s home shortly after and the grandparent gave them the box and took a photo of their license plate. Investigators later learned it was an Uber driver, the warrant affidavit said.

After sending the driver off with the box of cash, the grandparent called their grandson — who was in college in North Carolina — and he assured them that he had not been arrested, police said.

The scam was then reported to state police, who were aware of identical scams against other elderly people in the months prior, the warrant affidavit said.

Troopers responded to the elderly person’s house and while they were there, the man impersonating the public defender called again. He told the grandparent that the person their grandson hit was pregnant and that she had lost the baby as a result of the crash, so their grandson needed another $20,000 to “get out of jail and make the matter go away,” according to the warrant affidavit.

The grandparent went along with the scam to help investigators and agreed to pay $19,500, which the man told them to put in another box to be picked up by another courier, police said.

Shortly after, another car pulled up. This one was driven by a Lyft driver, who told investigators that he had been communicating with a man named Waldy through the Lyft app and was supposed to bring the box to Waterford, police said.

Investigators and undercover detectives from Connecticut State Police followed the driver to the meet up location, which was changed to a Dunkin’ shop on Whitehall Street in Mystic, the warrant affidavit said.

There, they saw a man who was later identified as 25-year-old Jose Bautista, also of Providence, approach the Lyft, take the box and put it in his Jeep, police said.

Investigators approached Bautista, who told them he was just doing a favor for his friend, Waldy Santiago. He reportedly told police that he thought he was just picking up a package from Amazon, did not know what was in the box and was not aware of any criminal activity, police said in the affidavit.

During an interview, he told police that Santiago, a longtime friend, called and asked him if he could do him a favor by picking up a package from a driver he hired in North Kingston, Rhode Island, the warrant affidavit said.

He told investigators that they could look at his text messages, which he said “would prove that he wasn’t associated in the crime,” police said.

Investigators searched his phone and vehicle and did not find any evidence that he was involved in the initial $6,500 scam earlier that day.

Investigators found that the Uber that was used to drop off the first box of cash had been requested by a woman, who changed the drop off from Narragansett to North Kingstown, Rhode Island. She told the driver to give the package to a man who she said was her boyfriend, but that man did not match Bautista’s description, police said.

A review of Bautista’s texts, however, found that he allegedly was not being honest about his involvement in the plan, police said in the warrant affidavit.

The warrant affidavit featured a transcript of texts between Bautista and Santiago, including texts from Santiago that said “The money is ready” and “Don’t open package,” along with a conversation about how far Bautista was willing to drive to meet the Lyft driver.

Bautista said that at some point, communication from Santiago stopped, and instead came from his brother in the Dominican Republic, police said.

Detectives contacted Santiago, who denied involvement in the scam and asked if there was a warrant for his arrest that would prevent him from traveling to the Dominican Republic, police said.

Investigators obtained a warrant to review his cell phone records and found that his cell phone pinged near where the first box of cash was dropped off, at around the time of the drop off.

Santiago was arrested on Oct. 25 and was charged with criminal attempt to commit second-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny, police said.

He is free on a $175,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Middletown on Nov. 8, police said.

Bautista is charged with attempt to commit second-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny. He is free a $100,000 bond, and was scheduled to appear in court next in New London on Nov. 1, records show.