Elvis Oduro, 22, conned a Brooklyn woman, Sheila Levine, out of $75,000 by claiming her grandson was in jail and urgently needed the money for bail.
Miami police reported that Oduro contacted Levine on March 22, telling her that her grandson had been arrested in Chicago on drug charges and needed $75,000 to post bail. Trusting the caller’s story, Levine transferred the full amount to a Regions Bank account that Oduro had opened.
A week later, on March 29, Oduro withdrew a total of $24,000 from the account in two transactions. The first was for $4,000 at a bank branch located at 2205 SW 8th Street in Miami, and the second for $20,000 at another branch on 901 South Miami Avenue. The following day, Oduro attempted to withdraw more money at a third branch, located at 6013 NW 7th Avenue, but employees informed him they didn’t have enough funds available at that time.
Suspicious of the situation, bank employees launched an internal investigation, which led them to believe that the money had been obtained through fraudulent means. They contacted law enforcement, and Oduro was subsequently arrested.
Authorities are now investigating whether Oduro has targeted other victims and are warning the public about similar scams. Meanwhile, Levine is working to recover the lost funds and prevent further incidents.
