Elderly residents in Brooklyn received misleading pop-ups and phone calls, leading to a financial scam perpetrated by two siblings from New Jersey, causing a loss of approximately $400,000.
In a despicable scheme targeting senior citizens, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office has accused two New Jersey brothers, Abhishek Barvalia (31) and Tushar Barvalia (32), of scamming four elderly women out of nearly $400,000.
The brothers, who are charged with grand larceny and conspiracy, allegedly deceived four women from Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens, and Connecticut, by claiming that their bank accounts were compromised and needed immediate withdrawal of funds.
In early July 2023, a 78-year-old woman was persuaded to send $70,000 via two cashier's checks to the brothers after receiving a notification claiming her computer was infected with malware and transferring to someone pretending to be a representative from the Federal Trade Commission.
An 83-year-old woman wired $15,000 to a bank account owned by the brothers after a phone call from someone pretending to be a bank representative in June 2023. The 76-year-old woman was told that her savings were being used for illegal activities such as drug sales, gun trafficking, and money laundering, and was persuaded to send three cashier's checks totalling $171,680 to the scammers.
In late December, a fourth victim - a 76-year-old woman - was scammed out of $171,680. The men pretended to be government agents or bank representatives to deceive the senior women.
Abhishek Barvalia and Tushar Barvalia pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Monday. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 22. No immediate attorney information was available for the brothers.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez described the scheme as "despicable," stating that it was especially egregious given the vulnerability of the victims. The District Attorney's Office is working to recover the stolen funds and bring the perpetrators to justice. No new charges or convictions were mentioned in the paragraph.
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