Scammers allegedly steal $26,000 in cash from Iowa City couple, accused of similar scheme in Des Moines

A pair of alleged criminals schemed to steal more than $70,000 in cash from unsuspecting Iowans last month.

Johnn Tatis-Mendez, 26, of Paterson, New Jersey, was arrested for first-degree theft against an older individual, a Class “B” felony Tuesday, July 11 in Iowa City. Tatis-Mendez helped organize an operation to allegedly steal $26,000 in cash from a local couple. He has also been connected to a similar scam in Des Moines in which $45,000 in cash was taken.

Police allege Tatis-Mendez and an unnamed co-conspirator executed the first of their three scams against a 79 and 80-year-old in Iowa City on June 6. They phoned the couple pretending to be their son. The caller claimed they had been arrested and needed bond money.

A second caller, posing as their son’s defense attorney, contacted the family and instructed them to put $26,000 cash in a shoe box and give it to a driver who would appear outside their home, the police complaint alleges. The parents withdrew the money and gave it to who police said was an “unwitting” Uber driver that arrived at their home.

Uber offers its Uber Connect service, where packages can be given to drivers and delivered to a destination of their choice, complete with tracking services. The company said its service made same-day delivery “easier than ever” when it launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, but drivers have had concerns that the service might turn them into mules for drugs, money or any other illegal activity.

It was unclear if the alleged scammers used Uber Connect in this case.

The driver then delivered the cash to Tatis-Mendez and a co-defendant at a gas station in Grinnell, where they had been waiting for about 45 minutes.

Police matched Tatis-Mendez’s New Jersey driver’s license photo to surveillance footage from the gas station and determined he was the one who took the money from the Uber driver.

The co-defendant’s New York driver’s license picture was also matched with surveillance footage at a nearby hotel as well as the gas station.

The pair arrived in Grinnell in a white Lexus with New Jersey plates. License plate reader cameras tracked the same car in the Des Moines area on June 9 and 10.

Des Moines police documented reports on June 8 and 9 similar to the Iowa City crime, with one person claiming to have lost $36,000 in cash and another turning over $9,000 to the alleged scammers. One of the two residents was also over the age of 60.

Authorities executed a search warrant on the Lexus, revealing a receipt for a Des Moines hotel room from June 6-8.

Police spoke with the registered owner of the Lexus that Tatis-Mendez and the other alleged scammer had been driving around Iowa. The owner said they rented the vehicle to Tatis-Mendez on June 5 so he could attend a concert in Ohio. The vehicle owner later traced the car through a GPS tracker to a hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota on June 11, where the pair had allegedly abandoned it.

Bloomington police found the vehicle outside of the hotel and surveillance footage confirms the pair checked in to a hotel under the co-defendant’s name on June 11 before boarding two different flights to New York on consecutive days, June 12 and June 13.

The Press-Citizen could not identify any prior criminal history for Tatis-Mendez in Iowa, New Jersey or New York. He is being held in the Johnson County jail and his bail has been set at $25,000.

Police warn locals of similar scams

Theft committed against those over the age of 60 in Iowa elevates the crime by one degree as part of the state’s elder abuse laws. Class "B" felonies are punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Iowa City police warned the community about scams last year and said they receive between 10 and 30 reports of scams per month.

"While advances in technology have greatly improved our lives, making things like banking and staying in touch with loved ones easier; they have also created opportunities for people with ill-intent to take advantage of that technology for criminal purposes," a 2022 release from the city said. "Often times, scammers target members of the community who might not be fully familiar with the technology they possess, depriving them of money or personal information."

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: New Jersey man apprehended for cash scams in Iowa City, Des Moines