NC Man Fakes Kidnapping To Scam Grandfather Into Paying Drug Debt

NORTH CAROLINA — A 34-year-old Pitt County man was arrested and charged recently after authorities said he hatched a fake kidnapping plot and demanded ransom from his grandfather in order to pay a debt to a drug dealer.

The news comes as North Carolina was recently ranked among the top states in the nation for elder fraud, with residents aged 60 and over reporting losses of nearly $28 million to con artists last year, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to Pitt County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the grandfather's home in Grimesland, North Carolina, around 3 a.m. June 17 when he called to report the kidnapping.

The victim told deputies he had received a phone call stating that his grandson, Jeremy Nichols, had been kidnapped.

"The kidnappers were demanding ransom or they would murder him," PCSO said. "The man had talked to Nichols on the phone, at which time Nichols directly asked him to pay the ransom."

Deputies launched an investigation, and located Nichols when he returned to his grandparents home unharmed.

"Detectives determined that the kidnapping was a hoax created by Nichols and a narcotics dealer for the purpose of inducing the grandfather to pay a debt to the dealer," PCSO said.

Nichols was arrested and charged with extortion and conspiracy to obtain property by false pretense, both felonies, the sheriff's office said.

SEE ALSO: NC One Of Top States In US For Elder Fraud: FBI Report

According to the FBI, extortion is the top crime targeting elderly victims in the U.S.

Last year, scams targeting the elderly bilked 105,301 victims out of about $1 billion in the U.S., according to the FBI. The average loss per victim was about $9,175, and nearly 2,000 of the victims in 2020 lost more than $100,000.

The FBI 2020 Elder Fraud Report may be found here.