B’chasdei Hashem, Jerusalem police apprehended suspects believed to be running a sting operation in which they targeted senior citizens. The 42-year-old suspect in custody is believed to have defrauded no less than 16 senior citizens between the ages of 60 and 90-years-old, taking money for fixing problems with their vehicles.

Police received a complaint from an 80-year-old against a mechanic, and then a number of other complaints, leading to the investigation which led to the discovery of the organized effort to defraud the elderly. Police set up a stakeout and this led to their gathering sufficient evidence to take the covert probe public and arrest the suspect, an Arab resident of the eastern capital.

He would approach the elderly if they were driving alone, presenting himself as a mechanic and then ‘finding’ a dangerous problem with their vehicle, which he of course expressed a willingness to repair.

After the suspect managed to get them to stop at the side of the road, in order to gain their trust, he made sure to create a faulty display, for example by pouring water on the engine to show that there was leakage or disconnecting one of the cables. He received thousands of shekels in cash with a commitment to repair their vehicle but disappeared with their money and the repair has never been done!

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)