A 68-year-old man from Argentina is facing charges after police say he nearly convinced an Ada County woman to hand over $18,000 in cash.
Isaac A. Falak of Buenos Aires was booked into the Ada County Jail on one count of felony grand theft.
According to the Ada County Sheriff's Office, Falak was involved in a common phone and email scam in which a scammer attempts to convince their target that a loved one is in legal trouble, and needs money.
Often, the caller impersonates the victim's grandchild, telling the scam target that he or she needs cash for a lawyer or to bail out of jail.
That's what happened to a woman who lives near Kuna, the sheriff's office says. According to investigators, the woman received a call Aug. 16 from someone who pretended to be her grandson, telling the victim that he had been in a car accident and needed money to get out of custody.
That man then said he was handing the phone over to his "lawyer," and gave the phone to another person. That man told the grandmother to withdraw $18,000 in cash, put it in a manilla envelope, and then return home and wait for someone to come pick it up.
The “lawyer” told her he was under a gag order, saying he couldn't give her any details about the supposed criminal case, and that she was not allowed to talk to anyone else about it.
Fearing for her grandson, the woman withdrew the money, but became suspicious of the story and reached out to her grandson directly. At that point, deputies say, she realized he was not in jail and was fine.
The woman told a family member what was going on, and then called law enforcement. The relative she had told went to her house, and found Falak walking up her driveway pulling a suitcase. The suspect told the relative he was looking for the woman, but wouldn't say anything else about what he was doing at the house.
After being told to leave, Falak got into a cab and left the area.
Deputies from the Ada County Sheriff's Office arrived a short time later, and began investigating. Another deputy saw the cab nearby, and found Falak at a local grocery store.
After being interviewed, the suspect was arrested. He is currently free on a $20,000 bond, and due to appear in court again Sept. 1.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, according to the sheriff's office, and detectives are working to figure out where else in the U.S. Falak has been this summer, and whether he is involved in similar fraud cases.
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