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The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office is charging four southeastern Pennsylvania men with leading a financial fraud scheme targeting seniors throughout the state.
"There are a number of different forms of contact but most of it we believe was simply cold calls, just approaching seniors directly in their home, to see if they were interested in buying these services," said AG Spokesperson Nils Frederiksen.
The services and goods offered allegedly included shopping assistance, personal organizer services, bogus safety equipment and fraudulent insurance.
The office has found 218 seniors who were bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of them lived in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. The investigation continues as the office looks for more victims.
A 79-year-old central Pennsylvania widow is among the alleged victims according to Frederiksen. Over a two-year period, she reportedly received more than 40 sales calls from two of the alleged perpetrators of the scheme.
"In the end they took nearly 57-thousand dollars from her for absolutely nothing," said Frederiksen.
Four men have been arrested and charged. Two of the men had worked previously in a legitimate insurance company.
Most of the services were sold under the names of two companies: American Comfort Home Care Services and Global Services for the Home.
