Police: Man arrested for attempting to scam 88-year-old man out of $5,500

Detectives tell News 12 the victim was inside his home in North Long Beach when he got a call from 28-year-old Larry Urtarte.

News 12 Staff

Jan 18, 2023, 10:24 AM

Updated 598 days ago

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Police say a man has been arrested for trying to scam an 88-year-old man from North Long Beach out of thousands of dollars.
Detectives tell News 12 the victim was inside his home when he got a call from 28-year-old Larry Urtarte.
Urtarte told the victim his grandson was in an accident and needed money, police say.
Urtarte said to put $5,500 in cash in a package, label it and someone named "Richard" would come by and pick it up.
Officers then tell News 12 the victim was able to confirm his grandson was not in an accident and called police.
When 'Richard' got to the home and asked for the package - the victim handed it over.
Detectives then revealed themselves and Urtarte tried to run away.
Police tell News 12 when they were attempting to place Urtarte into custody, he began to resist being handcuffed. No injuries were reported.
Urtarte is now facing grand larceny and resisting arrest charges.