Man Scams Elderly Upper East Sider Out Of $2K, Police Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A scammer convinced an elderly Upper East Sider to hand him thousands of dollars in cash by pretending to be a lawyer for the man's grandson, an NYPD spokesman said.

The 90-year-old victim got a call on Christmas Eve from the scam artist, who told the man that he needed to help pay for his grandson's bail, police said. An hour later, a man showed up at the man's East 68th Street home to collect $2,200, an NYPD spokesman said.

It wasn't until later, when the grandfather called his grandson, that the victim realized he was never jailed, police said.

Police released the photo of a suspect (seen above) on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).