STATEWIDE — Scams come in many different forms, but scammers usually target similar people: the elderly. Here’s what you need to know about “the Grandparent Scam.”

Court documents say five people, Jasuan Pope, Darlens Renard, Princess Elizer, Jennifer Glemeau and Kareem Brown, spent over a year scamming elderly people out of over half-a-million dollars.

From April, 2020 to January, 2021, Pope and his partners would call people from several different states, including many in Indiana, claiming to be a cop, attorney, or some other authority figure. The scammers would tell the person on the other end of the phone that their grandchild was in trouble, and needed a payment of 5,000 to 15,000-dollars to get them out of trouble. Of course, their grandchildren were never in trouble, and the scammers were able to walk away with 683,464-dollars.

Nearly 70 elderly people were victims of the scam.

All five have since been arrested, and now the first of the five has been sentenced. Jasuan Pope has been sentenced to just over 8 years in federal prison on charges of mail fraud and money laundering.

The Justice Department has established the National Elder Fraud Hotline to help victims of scams like these. If you or someone you know is 60-years-old or older, you can call 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).