Fall River Police and Bank Manager Foil $25,000 Elderly Scam

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — Fall River Police recently announced the arrest of a Roxbury man allegedly involved in an attempt to scam an elderly person out of $25,000.

According to a police Facebook post, officers responded earlier this month to BankFive for a report of an ongoing scam involving an elderly victim. When police arrived, the victim was still on the phone with the alleged fraudster, who claimed to be a bank employee in the “Fraud Department.”

The person on the phone was instructing the victim to withdraw $25,000 and give it to an Uber driver so it could be “secured” as part of a fraud investigation. The BankFive manager recognized it was a scam and called the police. The officers kept the victim on the phone with the alleged scammer in order to further the investigation.

Staging the Fake Cash Delivery

Police said the suspect requested a photograph of the cash inside a CVS shopping bag to confirm that the victim had complied with the request. Bank employees were able to provide the cash in order to stage the photo, and then the cash was returned to the bank and a detective placed a magazine in the bag to simulate the cash.

An Uber driver arrived to retrieve the bag, and police questioned the driver and determined they were not a part of the scheme. The driver agreed to assist police, and drove to the delivery location in Dorchester while undercover detectives followed. Boston Police and the FBI were also notified.

Undercover Sting Ends in Dorchester Arrest

The driver arrived at the destination and handed off the package to the suspect, who was immediately apprehended by police. He was identified as Joshua Jose Nieves, 28, of Roxbury.

Nieves was arrested and charged with larceny over $1,200 by false pretenses, and conspiracy.

Somerset Connection and Active Investigation

Police said it was later learned that the victim had previously withdrawn $25,000 from another bank branch in Somerset and provided it to a similar courier. That case remains under investigation by Somerset Police. The Fall River case is also still under active investigation, and police said more arrests may be forthcoming.