Four Laval women are being held in a New York county jail after being arrested on Jan. 12 on charges of running a scam targeting the elderly.
Christina Antonakakis, 29, Sophia Mikelakis, 57, Nora Apkarian, 42 and Anahid Apkarian, 61 are accused of being part of a larger criminal organization that was stealing money from people around the United States.
According to New York State Police, the plot involved contacting an elderly person by phone and identifying themselves as a family member who had been arrested and needed quick cash to make bail.
The victim would then be advised not to inform other family members so as not to upset them. A second person would then get on the phone and pose as a police officer, giving instructions on how to send the bail money.
That false police officer would also advise the victim not to inform any other agency about what was going on -- saying that criminals often posed as government officials.
Police say that on Jan. 6 and 7 the four women travelled from Laval to Albany, New York to pick up money that had been left for them at UPS, or have couriers pick up the packages containing the money and deliver it to a hotel room.
Antonakakis and Mikelakis were granted bail of $30,000 each while the mother and daughter Apkarians were given bail of $35,000 each. None of the four has posted bail yet.
Police say they believe other victims exist, and are asking people to contact them at any New York State police station.
