LI Man Scammed Hudson Valley Senior Out Of $100,000

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — A Long Island con artist who convinced an 85-year-old Putnam County resident that she had made overpayments to many companies and that he could get her refunds has been convicted of grand larceny, attempted grand larceny, and resisting arrest, Putnam County District Attorney Robert V. Tendy announced Tuesday.

James Mcinerney, of Coram, New York, pretended to be the owner of an asset recovery business. Calling himself "James Bryant," he contacted the Cold Spring woman, told her she was being overcharged or fraudulently charged by other companies, and offered to obtain refunds for her.

She gave him a total of $103,050 over six months in 2018.

After this case was referred to the state police, police investigators were given control of the victim’s e-mail account and began communicating with “James Bryant.”

Mcinerney attempted to obtain an additional $7,250 by claiming that he made a payment to a company on the victim’s behalf and she needed to reimburse him.

He was arrested on Jan. 11, 2019, when he drove from Long Island to her residence to, he believed, pick up a check. After a plainclothes investigator in the victim’s house identified himself as a member of the New York State Police, Mcinerney fought the arresting officer.

Mcinerney is scheduled to be sentenced by County Court Judge Joseph J. Spofford, Jr. on Aug. 17. He faces a maximum aggregate sentence of 9 1⁄2 to 19 years’ incarceration in state prison.

“There are so many scams out there, sadly our seniors are often targeted. We are doing everything we can to educate seniors about these scams and vigorously prosecute these cases when an arrest is made,” Tendy said.