By Anna Gustafson
A Manhattan man and a South Carolina man were charged with trying to steal $20,000 from a 78-year-old woman in Forest Hills by convincing her to turn over the cash in exchange for a cut of money supposedly found in a wallet on the street, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Charles P. Merrit, 56, of Manhattan, and Hiram C. Whitener, 69, of South Carolina, allegedly left a wallet on a Queens Boulevard sidewalk March 17 and approached the elderly woman when she picked it up.
After the woman suggested they go to the police with the wallet when the two defendants allegedly told her it contained $300,000 and a note indicating the money was gambling winnings, the two men tried to convince her they should keep it for themselves, Brown said.
The elderly woman agreed to go with Merrit and Whitener to see their boss, who they told her was their attorney, and they proceeded to tell the victim they would need $20,000 from her to put into an escrow account. The woman was told they would then in turn get back that money plus the money in the wallet.
After she balked at giving them the money, the men fled and the woman called the police. The defendants were arrested shortly thereafter around 68th Drive and Queens Boulevard, where they were allegedly trying to pull the same scam on another elderly person, the DA said.
Police found play money in the wallet Merrit and Whitener allegedly used, according to Brown.
“The defendants are accused of winning the trust of strangers they would target on the street in an effort to part them from their hard-earned cash,” Brown said. “Targeting mostly immigrants and elderly victims, the defendants’ alleged schemes were nothing more than variations on classic con games. This case must serve as a warning to the public that people should always be suspicious of any financial scheme that requires them to turn over their money to a complete stranger on short notice.”
Merrit and Whitener were charged with attempted grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and fraudulent accosting. They face up to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison if convicted.
Merrit and Whitener were two of five people indicted last week in this type of scam, Brown said. Paula Sandy, 53, of the Bronx; Myles Riles, 62, of Alabama; and Etta Washington, 59, of Alabama were charged with allegedly scamming 12 Queens victims out of about $62,500 between Sept. 18, 2008, and Feb. 17, 2010, the DA said.
Each of the individual victims lost between $1,000 and $11,000 in the scheme, Brown said.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
