Police/FireThe Putnam Examiner

Man Jailed for Scamming Cold Spring Woman of More Than $103,000

Rick Pezzullo
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A man was sentenced to seven to 15 years in state prison earlier this month after being convicted in a jury trial of scamming an 85-year-old Cold Spring woman of more than $103,000.

James Mcinerney

County Court Judge Joseph J. Spofford, Jr. handed down the aggregate sentence on Nov. 9 to James Mcinerney, 52, of Coram, NY.

When imposing the sentence, Spofford stated Mcinerney was a “career criminal” who “preyed upon” his victim and committed a “despicable” crime. In addition to the sentence, Spofford issued a criminal order of restitution for the victim in the full amount of the theft and issued an order of protection prohibiting the defendant from having any contact with her, according to Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy.

During the jury trial in the summer, it was revealed from July 2018 to December 2018, Mcinerney, using the alias “James Bryant,” claimed to be the owner of an asset recovery business. He contacted a woman in Cold Spring, alleged she was being overcharged or fraudulently charged by other companies, and offered to obtain refunds for her.

As a result of those promises, the victim gave Mcinerney $103,050 over approximately six months. The case was turned over to the New York State Police. Investigators were given control of the victim’s email account and began communicating with the person believed to be “James Bryant.”

Unaware he was speaking to law enforcement officials, Mcinerney attempted to obtain an additional $7,250 by falsely claiming he made a payment to a company on the victim’s behalf that she needed to reimburse him for. He was arrested on January 11, 2019 when he drove from Long Island to the victim’s residence to pick up a check from the victim.

After a plainclothes investigator in the victim’s house identified himself as a member of the State Police, Mcinerney physically resisted the investigator’s attempts to place him under arrest.

Mcinerney was found guilty by the jury of grand larceny in the second degree, attempted grand larceny in the third degree and resisting arrest.

“There are so many scams out there, sadly our seniors are often targeted,” Tendy said. “We are doing everything we can to educate seniors about these scams and vigorously prosecute these cases when an arrest is made.”

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