Mayfield Heights: Father and son arrested for impersonating agents, targeting elderly

CLEVELAND -- Two men, a father and son, who investigators say worked as a team to try and take money from senior citizens, have been arrested on charges of impersonating a federal agent.

Lemie Steve Wilson, 72, and his son, Jomo Kenyatta Wilson, 40, were taken into custody after investigators say on Tuesday they tried to persuade an elderly person in Mayfield Heights to give them money as part of a fictional investigation. According to the FBI, the Wilsons would portray themselves as federal agents or police officers investigating identity theft and counterfeiting.

The FBI says the father son duo would cruise neighborhoods looking for elderly homeowners. They'd match an address with a phone number. Then they would call, posing as FBI agents, and talk their victims out of cash and banking information.

The pair would convince an elderly victim to cash a personal check and hand the money over to them. According to investigators the pair promised the victim they would get the money back at the end of the 'investigation' plus a sizeable monetary award for their assistance.

"Our seniors are very trusting and unfortunately sometimes they are taken advantage of by these types of bad guys," FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson said.

"When they were arrested they had false identification that they were a federal agent and they had false police badges."

Agent Wilson says such credentials are easily purchased on the internet or made on a personal computer.

Not all those contacted were conned. In fact, investigators have complaints from several seniors in a half dozen eastside communities that were sharp enough to call police first.

"We know for sure we have three victims that are out approximately $10,000," Agent Wilson said.

These Mayfield Heights seniors don't mind losing a few nickels and dimes in a friendly poker game, but they're not about to risk a life savings on a bluff from strangers.

"When strangers approach you just ignore them, just keep on going. Do what you have to do," senior Connie Nicolos said.

Besides the FBI and Mayfield Heights Police, the FBI says both Lemie and Jomo Wilson were also being investigated by the Cleveland, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, and Lakewood police departments. It's suspected that other senior citizens in northern Ohio may have been targeted.

Anyone who suspects they may have been a victim should contact the Cleveland office of the FBI at 216.522.1400.