Inmate Swindles Old Man From Behind Bars

Akihiko Siegfried, 54, has been charged with seventeencounts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering after allegedlydefrauding an elderly victim from behind bars.

According to the indictment, Siegfried began hisscheme in 2008 when he knocked on the victim’s door and pretended to bedistraught.  He asked to borrow moneyafter falsely telling the victim his parents had just died in a caraccident.  He continued asking for moneyafter again lying to the victim that he would inherit a substantial sum fromhis parents after probate.  Up untilMarch 2013, Siegfried spent frequent time in the Colorado Department ofCorrections where he directed the victim multiple times to wire him money tohelp pay probate fees and his diabetes medication.  Siegfried is believed to have taken at least $10,000 from the victim.

See Robert Garrison, ColoradoMan Accused of Swindling Elderly Victim From Behind Bars, 9 News, June 24,2013.