Con Men Dupe Grieving Families, Swindling $61K to Add to Their Loss

In two separate but related incidents, sheriff detective imposters Frank Kegel of Simi Valley and Martin Pelayo of Whittier allegedly conned two families grieving the loss of their sons for tens of thousands of dollars.

According the Pasadena Star, the men managed to gain the trust Crisanta Calvillo by promising to help her solve the mystery surrounding the killing of her son Francisco. The son had been a military veteran, and the situation surrounding his stabbing death in South Gate had been vague. The imposters jumped into the scene by pretending to be sheriff detectives, promising to help solve the case for huge amount of money they claimed was needed to reopen the case. Calvillo reportedly paid them $40,000 for the job.

The second victim was a Long Beach couple Benito Molina Benavidez and Rita Ramos Molina whose son allegedly died of heart attack days after leaving from a hospital. The couple were allegedly promised that the "detectives" would prevent authorities from pressing charges against them for the son's death, making them believe that they were responsible for the death of the 27 years old Jose Benavidez. They too, would pay a hefty amount for the 'investigation." They paid $21,000 within two months of the "investigation."

The two men managed to swindle about $61,000 from the two families, never getting anything solved. What amazes people is how these men managed to get deep in the victims' pockets. They are con artist; they knew how to get unsuspecting and naïve people to do what they want without much ado. They targeted Spanish-speaking immigrant victims who often seem afraid of law enforcements because those who are not legal immigrants fear being revealed.

Another thing is that they always met their victims at the Sheriff's Training Academy and Regional Services Center where the victims would somehow associate the Academy with their "detectives" authenticity. The families were conned into believing that these men were true detectives since they had their meetings with them at the training center. They had nothing to hint these men were other than they pledged to be.

In addition to the location confusion, the con men carried Sheriff Recruitment materials during their meetings with the victims so that if they are questioned, they could claim that they were there to be trained as deputies.The swindlers are scheduled to go to court next month for conspiracy to defraud people of property and for gaining money through false pretenses among other counts.
This was nothing but pure evil; inflicting indelible wounds on the hearts of the already heartbroken.

Source:
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_10233063?source=rss_viewed