Lang
2/21/25
A New York man is in custody at the Johnson County Jail after allegedly running a phone scam on elderly Iowa City residents.
27-year-old Elvi Delacruz Morel of The Bronx was booked into the jail just before 3:00 Thursday afternoon. Arrest records indicate last June someone called a 79-year-old and an 80-year old and told them he was their son, and that he was in need of bond money after being arrested after a car accident. A second person claiming to be a defense attorney then got on the phone and told the couple to put $26,000 in a shoebox and give it to a driver who would be pulling up to their home shortly. An Uber driver arrived and couriered the money to a gas station in Grinnell, where video footage allegedly shows Delacruz Morel and Johnn Tatis Mendez of Paterson, New Jersey waiting. The exchange was made, and Delacruz Morel and Tatis Mendez left.
Their vehicle was a rental car that matched one that was reported in connection with two similar schemes in Des Moines. Delacruz Morel and Tatis Mendez then reportedly left the vehicle in Bloomington, MN before flying back to New York.
Delacruz Morel is charged with 1st Degree Theft Against an Older Individual. If convicted in the Johnson County case, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
Tatis Mendez pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree Theft in October as well as a charge of Conspiracy to Commit a Non-Forcible Felony. He was sentenced to a pair of five-year consecutive suspended sentences.