Grandfather Sends $14,000 to Scam Artists Impersonating his Grandson

Theft

A resident of the 200 block of North Addison Avenue sent more than $14,000 to scam artists in Canada between Nov. 7 and 23. The thieves impersonated his grandson, claiming he was in jail for DUI. The victim told police it did sound like his grandson on the phone. The caller instructed to the man not to call the boy's parents. Police contacted the boy, who is a student at the University of Iowa and had just returned home for Thanksgiving.

A toolbox containing miscellaneous Craftsman tools was taken from an unlocked vehicle parked in a driveway on the 500 block of North Walnut between 8 p.m. Nov. 21 and 10 a.m. Nov. 22. The dealer license plate also was stolen.

A resident of the 100 block of East Wilson told police someone attempted to fraudulently cash her personal check in the amount of $750 at 11:45 a.m. Nov. 26. The victim received a call from Chase Bank in Melrose Park alerting her to the fraud. The victim believes one of her checks might have taken by one of the workers that had been in her home doing repairs.

Someone took 200 boxes weighing 30 pounds each and containing about 6,000 pieces of 1/2-inch stainless steel screws from Semblex, 199 W. Diversey, between 8 a.m. Aug. 26 and 4 p.m. Nov. 18. The west door was found to have duct tape on the latch.

Someone pushed a cart full of groceries out the north entrance doors at Jewel, 944 S. York Road, at 11:09 p.m. Nov. 26. The suspect loaded the items into the trunk of a tan or white Buick, then fled southbound on York Road.

An air compressor worth $125 was taken from a storage locker on the 300 block of South West Avenue between 12:01 a.m. Nov. 21 and 3 p.m. Nov. 28.

A black Haulmark trailer was taken from the 100 block of East Grand Avenue between 3 p.m. Nov. 25 and 1:50 p.m. Nov. 29. The trailer contained several tools.

Six envelopes containing cash earnings were stolen from a cash register at a bar on the 100 block of West Park Avenue between 2:30 and 8:30 a.m. Dec. 2. 

A resident of the 100 block of West Armitage told police she ordered three Samsung Galaxy Victory cell phones online. The phones were shipped via FedEx and delivered Nov. 12, but the victim never received them.

A resident of the 600 block of Fairview told police she hired a moving company in September to move her from California to Elmhurst. While unpacking, she discovered her Apple MacBook was missing.

Door Kicked In

The door of an apartment on the 100 block of Elmhurst Road was kicked in or pried open, police said. Pry marks were discovered on the door at 6:55 p.m. Dec. 2. The door jamb was split and the casing forced off the interior. Nothing inside the apartment was damaged or missing, police said.

Theft Arrests

Hadija Mohamed-Mohse, 20, 3810 S. Redwood Road Apt. 2100, West Valley, Utah, was arrested and charged with retail theft after allegedly taking a box of teeth-whitening strips from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 7:39 p.m. Nov. 23. She was released on bond. 

A teenage girl was arrested and charged with retail theft after allegedly taking a pair of gloves and an iPod charger totaling $23 from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 8:17 p.m. Nov. 23. Kyle Krage, 21, 121 S. Addison, Addison, also was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Edward J. Rabe, 30, 132 Wallace St., Bartlett, was arrested and charged with retail theft after allegedly removing two items worth $31.08 from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 3:15 p.m. Nov. 25. Police left a message for him to turn himself in at the police station, which he did. He was released on bond.

Katherine R. Varney, 41, 103 N. Walnut, Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with theft after she allegedly stole about $50 from Mariano's, 678 N. York Road, where she is an employee, at 5:58 p.m. Nov. 14. She was released on bond.

Alexus Cook, 19, 438 N. 83rd, Centreville, Ill., was arrested and charged with attempted identity theft and attempted forgery after allegedly attempting to use a stolen checkbook and ID to make a purchase at Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, on Oct. 10. The offender turned himself in on Nov. 26. He was released on bond.

Wanda Wieleba, 65, 224 N. Walnut, Bensenville, was arrested and charged with retail theft after she allegedly took $72 in merchandise from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 3:35 p.m. Dec. 3. She was released on bond.

Identity Theft

Someone fraudulently obtained access to a Southwest Airlines account and purchased two round-trip tickets using the victim's reward points. The incident was reported at 3:22 p.m. Nov. 24.

Someone fraudulently used the PayPal account of a resident of Cottage Hill to make several purchases online between noon and 3 p.m. Nov. 27.

Someone fraudulently withdrew $4,500 from the Chase Bank account of a victim staying with her ill mother on Myrtle in Elmhurst. The transaction occurred on Nov. 25 in Bloomington, Ind.

Someone fraudulently used the Kohl's credit card of an Elmhurst resident to purchase a $130 blender on Oct. 27.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to contact karenc@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.