Stearns County Files Charges in Elaborate Grandparent Scam Targeting Local Senior Citizen

(KNSI) – Recent charges filed in Stearns County show an elaborate twist in the Grandparent Scam, which swindled a senior citizen out of thousands of dollars.

Authorities say it all started in June 2023 with a deputy getting a complaint from a Paynesville Township woman of the common scam, which features someone identified as a grandchild calling a grandparent for money after getting in trouble, and they don’t want mom and dad to find out.

In this call, a young woman claimed to be the victim’s granddaughter, saying she had been in a car accident and was currently at the courthouse. Her friend’s dad was there, and luckily, he was a lawyer and could help her out. The person posing as the lawyer, is the accused scammer in thos case. They got on the phone and explained the granddaughter hit a car with a pregnant woman inside, and the baby had died. The fraudster also warned the victim that the son of a prominent politician was involved, leading to a gag order, so no information was available. The granddaughter was allegedly being held on a charge of reckless driving and begged her grandma to pay $20,000 to get her out of jail.

The victim went to the bank, withdrew the money and gave the bank a believable explanation for needing it. She then rushed home and contacted the scammer. He told the victim a courier would be by later to pick up the cash. Late that afternoon, the courier arrived, and she handed over the $20,000. He, in turn, provided the victim with a fake receipt. The next day, the scammers allegedly contacted the victim again, but this time, they said the pregnant woman had died, but the family was willing to settle out of court for $100,000. When the victim went back to the bank, the staff recognized she was being taken advantage of and prevented the withdrawal.

The scammer called again and the victim told them they couldn’t withdraw the money. He claimed he would talk to his legal team and call her back, but he never did.

Investigators collected the receipt the courier provided, which was processed for DNA and fingerprints. The sheriff’s office says the fingerprints were matched to 31-year-old Mohamed Khalee Sakr, who was wanted on a similar scam in the State of New York, where 23 elderly people were scammed out of approximately $400,000. He pleaded guilty in April 2024 to some of the charges. Last October, a criminal complaint was filed in Stearns County asking for an arrest warrant for Sakr on two counts of theft by swindle. Sakr is still in the state of New York, facing other charges.

The sheriff says if anyone gets a phone call of this type, they should hang up and then call the parents or the grandchild directly. They add that a lawyer will likely not send a courier to collect a debt. Instead, they would provide information on how to pay bail or use a bonding service.

For advice on how to avoid being scammed, click here.

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