4 Canadian women charged in Albany in ‘grandparent scam'

Four Canadian women have been charged in connection with a so-called “grandparent scam” after traveling to the Albany area, state police said.

The four are accused of working together to scam elderly victims out of money in an operation in which individuals pose as an arrested grandchild in need of quick money to post bail.

Police said unknown men contact the elderly person and pose as a grandson, claiming to have been arrested in another state. The “grandson” also says not to contact the parents to not upset them.

A second person then poses as an officer and directs them where to send the “bail.” Finally, the victim is advised not to cooperate with any other agency contacting them because that other agency is a scam.

Police arrested the four women last week in Albany after they arrived to pick up a cash package.

Christina M. Antonkakis, 29, and Sophia Mikelakis, 57, both of Laval, Quebec, face one count each of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and third-degree attempted grand larceny.

Nora Apkarian, 42, and Anahid Apkarian, 61, both also of Laval, Quebec, each face one count of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

Anyone who believes they’ve been a victim of the scam is asked to contact the state police at (518) 783-3211.

Participating in the investigation, which is ongoing, are the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit in Albany, the Menands Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office, and the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.