Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announces that Starlyn Javier Lara Pimental, age 27, of Roxbury, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today in the Cheshire County Superior Court to one class A felony count of theft by deception, as principal/accomplice, and one class A felony count of attempted theft by deception stemming from Mr. Pimental’s role in perpetrating Grandparent scams targeting two elderly New Hampshire residents.

On November 4, 2020, Mr. Pimental was arrested by the Keene Police Department as he was attempting to pick up $32,000 in cash from an elderly victim in furtherance of a Grandparent scam. The day before his arrest, one of Mr. Pimental’s co-conspirators called and falsely told the victim that the victim’s grandchild was in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in the death of another. The co-conspirator told the victim that the victim needed to pay compensation in the amount of $32,000 cash.

Following Mr. Pimental’s arrest, further investigation revealed that on October 29, 2020, Mr. Pimental obtained $18,000 in cash from an elderly victim in Nashua, New Hampshire in furtherance of another Grandparent scam. In that case, a co-conspirator called and falsely told the victim that the victim’s grandchild was in a motor vehicle accident, was arrested, and the victim would need to pay $18,000 in cash for the grandchild’s release.

Sentencing will be scheduled for a later date in the Cheshire County Superior Court. Under the terms of a capped plea agreement, the State will seek that Mr. Pimental is sentenced to 7 ½-15 years in State Prison, stand committed, with 4 ½ years suspended from the minimum term, on his theft by deception conviction. The suspended term would be conditioned on, among other things, Mr. Pimental’s satisfaction of $18,000 in restitution to the Nashua victim. Mr. Pimental faces up to 2-5 years in the State Prison, stand committed, on the attempted theft by deception conviction.

Investigator Calice Couchman-Ducey of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau jointly investigated these cases with the Keene and Nashua Police Departments.

Assistant Attorney General Bryan J. Townsend, II, of the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit prosecuted the cases, with assistance from the Cheshire County Attorney’s Office.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of elder abuse or financial exploitation, please contact your local police department and the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (1-800-949-0470).