Oakland Park man accused of taking part in "grandparent scam"
MIAMI - An Oakland Park man is accused of taking part in a scheme to scam a Miami-Dade man out of thousands of dollars.
On December 20th, Steve Jordan received a call from an unknown number and spoke to a man who identified himself as Walter Higgins, an attorney working for Allstate Insurance.
Higgins reportedly told Jordan that his grandson had been at fault in an accident involving a Bahamian diplomat. The caller said for $600 he could get Jordan's grandson released. Jordan tried to get in touch with his grandson, but there was no answer, so he agreed to pay.
When he sent his wife to the bank to get a cashier's check for the amount, Higgins told him he could not hang up because it was important to keep the line open.
Higgens then convinced Jordan that his grandchild was going to be charged with a felony but if he paid $8,000, everything would be dropped.
According to the police report, Jordan asked several times to speak to his grandson but Higgins always came up with an excuse as to why he could not.
Under stress, Jordan agreed to pay the requested $8,000 and Higgins gave him a set of instructions on how it would be done. He told Jordan to place $1,000 each in eight small envelopes and an additional $280 in a ninth envelope and address them to the Pinecrest Village Clerk's Office. Higgins said he would send a federal courier to pick them up and take them there.
At 6:45 p.m., the alleged courier, later identified by police as 36-year-old Manuel Alfonso Lopez, arrived wearing a medical mask over his face, according to the police report. Higgins, who was on the phone with Jordan, asked to speak to the courier so he could give him a code.
Before handing over the envelopes, Jordan asked Lopez to lower his mask because he didn't feel comfortable handing over so much money to a stranger. Lopez complied and Jordan was able to take a picture of him without him noticing. He was also able to take a picture of Lopez's truck license plate.
Lopez then left with the cash.
According to the police report, "Higgins had Mr. Jordan on the phone for a little over 4 hours to be able to achieve this elaborate scam."
Jordan was finally about to get a hold of his grandson who told him he was fine and that his grandfather had been scammed. Jordan then called the police.
Police said during the course of the investigation they were able to positively identify Lopez as their suspect and the vehicle from Jordan's picture was registered to him.
On the following day, Jordan called the police to say the person who identified himself as Higgins had called again.
According to Jordan, Higgins said the courier was very scared and never delivered the money to the final destination point. Higgins reportedly told Jordan they wanted to return the money in exchange for him not pressing charges.
According to the police report, within 45 minutes an identified woman arrived at Jordan's home and handed over a package. Inside was the $8,000 that Jordan had given to Lopez.
"Mr. Jordan added that Walter Higgins advised him that he would be calling him later that night to make sure he
notified police that the money was returned," according to the police report.
Police told Jordan not to answer that call and have no further contact with him.
On January 10th, 2024, Lopez was taken into custody.
During questioning, Lopez reportedly told investigators that he had picked up the package as a favor for his cousin who lives in Canada. He originally stated that he was unaware of what was inside, but police said he later changed his story and said he did open it and see the money.
Police said Lopez's story regarding the day of the incident was inconsistent and he kept changing the facts. They added that at the end of the interview, Lopez that since the money was returned to Jordan everything should be okay.
It was not.
He was arrested and has been charged with an organized scheme to defraud and grand theft.
