Swindlers That Targeted Seniors Held On Over $5,000,000 Bail Philly DA Says
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Detoine Darryl Davis Winston A. Haynes, Michael Turner , Anthony Ringgold , and Mark Chappell all Philadelphia residents thought they have a novel scam going. It targeted senior citizens. That scam was effective in separating at least 35 people from their money and they got at least $500,000, District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
The scam work like this. They would make contact with older adults as they impersonated PGW, Water Department or even PEECO. They told the victim there was a problem with their account and it needed to be rectified. Then a member of the scamming crew would go to the person’s home and obtain their bank account information, debit cards, and pin under the guise of fixing the problem. The defendants then stole from the victims’ accounts and made unauthorized withdrawals. Further investigation found the stolen funds were used for money orders, personal purchases, and deposits into their own accounts.
All were charged with conspiracy, theft and impersonation as well as a litany of other charges. Law enforcement partners executed search warrants where police confiscated cash, an AR-15 firearm, cellphones and computers, debit cards, bank statements, and money order receipts. Investigators froze the accounts that received the stolen funds.
Anthony Ringgold and Winston Haynes are both being held on $1.8 million bail, while Michael Turner and Mark Chappell are both being held on $5.4 million bail. Defendant Detoine Davis is in the hospital and has not yet been arraigned.