2 suspects sought in scam targeting elderly
Posted April 29, 2013 1:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto police are searching for two people after an elderly woman was bilked in a fraud scam that they fear also targeted other vulnerable people.
Officers allege the accused, a man and a woman, approached a 68-year-old woman as she walked her dog near Eglinton Avenue West and Allen Road on April 9.
They pressured her into buying a gold necklace, took her money and gave her a fake gold necklace.
“The female suspect asked for directions to the hospital and at the same time, offered to give her some jewelry. The elderly victim complied and turned over a lot of money to her,” Det.-Sgt. Savas Kyriacou said at a news conference Monday.
“But that wasn’t enough. Seeing her vulnerability…she was followed to her home.”
Kyriacou said the size of the suspects – the man is over six-feet tall and 350 pounds, while the woman is 250 pounds – intimidated the victim, who is four-feet-11-inches tall.
The elderly woman, in an attempt to get away, once again left the building with her dog. However, the pair followed her and forced her into their car.
They drove the woman to the bank where they forced her to withdraw money.
“Fearing for her safety and fearing for her life, she turned over her money to these people,” Kyriacou said.
The pair then fled.
Police believe there may be more victims and the accused may have committed offences from Montreal to Vancouver. They’re wanted in at least nine incidents in Toronto between May and October of last year, and the April 9 incident.
A search of their home near Sheppard Avenue East and Markham Road allegedly led to the seizure of $16,000 in Canadian currency, two pounds of fake gold, jewelry used in various offences and a quantity of the victim’s gold.
Constantine Caldararu, 34, and Elisa Caldararu, 34, of Toronto, are both wanted for two counts of fraud, kidnapping, forcible confinement, robbery, extortion, four counts of possession of property obtained by crime and possession of proceeds of crime.
With files from The Canadian Press
