Countless elderly people robbed by Helder gang, even demented man scammed

It always follows the same routine: an older lady or gentleman is called by someone who says he is from the bank. According to the caller, there would be money ready to transfer to South Africa or Nigeria. To prevent this, people had to provide their PIN code, cut the debit card and hand it over to someone who would come by.

Then exactly what they fear happens: thousands of euros are debited from the bank accounts of the elderly. The public prosecutor sees SA (38) from Den Helder, originally from Iraq, as the main suspect. According to her, he has a leading role and is the one who booked a room in hotels in Den Helder, from where he called elderly people with the message that a suspicious transaction had been seen on their account.

Others then collect people’s debit cards and empty their accounts. Sometimes amounts of up to tens of thousands of euros are debited, always for elderly people.

Own area

A suspect (22) from The Hague is not from the region. Three other suspects, aged 37, 26 and 23, come from Den Helder, just like A. A final suspect (27) comes from the municipality of Schagen. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), they often struck in their own area in 2020 and 2021. The older victims – one woman was 92 years old – lived in Alkmaar, Heiloo, Haarlem, Heemstede and Den Helder, among others.

Expensive items were allegedly purchased from the loot. The police searched A.’s house. According to the judge, ‘an incredible amount of expensive and luxurious items were found’. This concerns dozens of mobile phones, clothing, shoes, Rolex watches and gift cards. The jewelry found had a value of more than 20,000 euros.

He did not want to say why A. had so many expensive items and how he purchased them. Today he invoked his right to remain silent, like most other suspects. A. previously indicated that he was staying in a hotel because he did not feel safe at home because some things had happened. But he also did not want to explain anything (anymore) about this fact.

The only one who has stated anything is the now 23-year-old P. He had previously said that he regretted what he did. P. indicated that he was open to an apology conversation. “If the victims don’t mind or it doesn’t affect them.” Why he did, what he did? “I didn’t think about the consequences and just wanted to make money.”

Crafty

The public prosecutor believes that the suspects acted ‘refined and cunning’. “They have caused a trail of destruction and have deceived people who have lost their money as a result.”

Sometimes only a few euros remained in the accounts. “But there is not only financial damage. There is also a lot of anger, sadness and fear among the old and vulnerable victims, three of whom have now died.”