CT Man Accused Of Attempting $50K Scam On Sharon Resident

SHARON, MA — Sharon police were involved with a sting operation that included Windsor, CT police after they said a man attempted to scam a Sharon resident out of $50,000 using what has become an increasingly common scam in the area.

Police said Joel Eduardo Hernandez Quezada, 24, is accused of attempting a version of the "grandparents scam" in which an older resident is told that a younger relative is in trouble and money must be sent to help get them out of a situation. In this case police said on June 9 a resident was contacted by someone claiming to be a public defender stating that a son-in-law had been arrested following a hit-and-run accident, and needed $10,000 for bail.

Police said a second man got on the phone pretending to be the son-in-law, and that the victim sent the money via FedEx overnight to the address of what turned out to be a vacant house for sale in Windsor, CT.

The next day, the local resident got another call asking for $10,000 more because the victim in the "crash" was pregnant. Once again, the resident sent the money via FedEx to the same Windsor, CT address.

The day after that, a third call requested $30,000 as part of an out-of-court settlement. At this point, the resident contacted Sharon police.

Sharon police said they worked with Windsor police to set up a sting in which a package — which did not include the money — was sent to the same Windsor address. When it arrived, police detained Quezada and seized two phones believed to have been used in the scam.

Sharon police said multiple state and federal agencies are involved in the ongoing investigation.

They ask that any resident who receives a similar call about a relative in trouble with law enforcement in another state contact their local police department before sending money.