The Sacramento Police Department has arrested Joe Zachary for defrauding an elderly person of money and for obtaining money under false pretenses. 

In January of this year, the victim received a telephone call from an unknown male claiming the victim had won money.  The caller told the victim that she needed to pay taxes on the funds before receiving the winnings and to wire the money to an account.  The unsuspecting victim complied. The caller continued to make phone calls to the victim requesting additional money for taxes and various fees.  The victim continued to give money.  After a few months and thousands of dollars later, the police department was notified and got involved. 

This is a common scam and typically it is extremely difficult to locate the suspects or recover the funds when they have been wire transferred.  However, in this case, the victim was able to obtain information about the suspect, enabling officers to identify and subsequently arrest him.

The Sacramento Police Department cautions the community about giving any money over the phone, especially to unknown persons.  Every effort should be made to validate the information from the caller.  Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.  Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.