Merced man accused of stealing $97,000 from senior

A Merced man has been arrested in connection with the alleged theft of nearly $100,000 from a 79-year-old man, the Merced Police Department reported Thursday.

Jose Alfredo Hernandez, 29, was arrested last week on suspicion of elder abuse and theft by false pretenses. He posted bail and was released from custody a short time later, police said in a news release.

Efforts to reach Hernandez by telephone on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Sgt. Scott Skinner said Hernandez used a variety of tactics over the past two years to bilk the alleged victim out of more than $97,000. Skinner said police have not ruled out the possibility of finding additional victims in the case.

“If anyone knows him or knows someone who has had similar interactions with him, we’d absolutely like them to call us immediately,” Skinner said.

Police said Hernandez befriended the man in April 2013 and began asking for a variety of loans under various false pretenses, including saying he was dying and, on another occasion, that his son needed brain surgery.

“After loaning Hernandez the money, he told the victim that his son had passed away and needed assistance for his funeral. Hernandez even showed the victim a computer-generated funeral announcement,” police said in the statement. “The announcement had a picture of a little boy but no date or time of the funeral. The victim was not invited to the funeral.”

Hernandez in 2013 had provided the victim with a letter saying he had only six months to live and asked the victim for another loan, according to police.

“The letter stated that Hernandez was going to be receiving a $33,000 payout from his grandfather and that he has set aside $10,000 dollars of that for the victim and his wife,” police said. “Hernandez ended the letter by saying he loved the victim and his wife like his own grandparents.”

Investigators said Hernandez was also in possession of a United States Uniformed Services card that was “obviously fake.”

“Hernandez told officers that he had never served in the military and had fraudulently manufactured the card so he could get military discounts at hotels and other places he went to,” police said.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Merced man accused of stealing $97,000 from senior."