BOSTON, Mass. — A Dorchester woman who prosecutors say pretended to belong to the Hells Angels to squeeze $34,000 out of a 30-year-old Newport man went before a judge Friday in Boston.
Tiana Serrano, 31, is charged with larceny of more than $1,200 by false pretenses. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office is prosecuting her. She was held on $1,000 bail and is due back in court Jan. 22.
The case began in Newport. Detectives with Newport Police opened the investigation after the man reported the threats, then brought in Boston Police, whose detectives secured warrants to search the bank records linked to Serrano.
Prosecutors say the Newport man had texted a number posted on an escort website and never heard back. Days later, messages began arriving from a sender calling himself Jeff Wolf of the Hells Angels. The texts named the man’s relatives, cited his Social Security information and demanded he pay off a supposed debt.
Afraid for his family, he sent more than a dozen payments over 12 days in September, adding up to $34,000, split between Zelle and an account at Chase Bank. Prosecutors say both accounts were in Serrano’s name.
Investigators say the money moved quickly into a string of smaller accounts and was then withdrawn from ATMs across the city, a pattern detectives tie to money mule accounts used to launder stolen funds.
Hayden said scams like this keep changing in method and complexity and that victims often stay quiet out of embarrassment. The charge is an allegation, and Serrano is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Section: More Newport RI crime news
Filed under: Newport RI Crime News
