‘Just a mule’: Man attempts to defraud 79-year-old Tulare woman out of $31.6K

TULARE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man who claimed he was “just a mule” was arrested after attempting to defraud a 79-year-old woman from Tulare out of tens of thousands of dollars, police say.

Officers say the woman received a phone call from a “bail bondsman” on Wednesday stating her grandson had been arrested. The caller said she would need to provide $9,600 to facilitate his release and made arrangements for a “courier” to pick up the money from her residence.

The woman suspected this was a scam and called family members. She then contacted the Tulare Police Department.

The following day officers say she received another call from the suspect, this time requesting an additional $22,000. After negotiation, the suspect agreed to take $5,000 and again told her a “courier” would be by to pick up the money. A short time later, a man arrived and picked up the money – but this time, police were prepared with surveillance at the residence.

The suspect then left in an Uber, which detectives followed out of the city to a restaurant in Castaic.

There, police say they apprehended 24-year-old Manuel Rivera Cueto of Los Angeles, who admitted to doing this approximately 10 times before. He was also found to have a warrant out of Las Vegas for 14 counts of theft by false pretenses.

Police say Cueto also claimed he was “just a mule” and the main suspects were in the Dominican Republic.