GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — Scams targeting elderly residents of Minnesota’s Iron Range resulted in at least three victims turning over nearly $50,000, according to charges filed in Itasca County.

Authorities say the perpetrators used the well-known “grandparent scam” in which a caller posing as a relative, usually a grandchild, claims to be in jail and in need of money for bail. The victims are then coerced into acting quickly, turning over cash to supposedly ensure their immediate release.

Ra’Shawn Marquios Carter, 31, of Canton, Ohio, was first arrested and charged with felony theft by swindle. A second man, Sebastian Munoz-Huertas, 24, of Freeport, Ill., was apprehended one day later and charged with aiding and abetting the same offense.

According to the criminal complaints:

One victim told police she received a call Feb. 3 from a man claiming to be her grandson. She said it didn’t sound like him, but he claimed to have a bad cold. He said he was jailed after a car crash and needed $17,000 to get out.

The woman and her husband then received several additional calls from an alleged bail bondsman and followed directions to get cash and place it in an envelope. A man later identified as Carter then came to their home and picked it up.

It was only after turning over the money that the couple called their grandson, learning he had been at work the entire time, and realizing they had been scammed.

Grand Rapids police arrived at the couple’s home and learned they were receiving more calls, requesting an additional $16,000 to be exchanged at a gas station. Officers went to the scene and arrested Carter, who matched the description given by the couple and seen on home security footage.

A search of his SUV turned up the envelope handed over by the couple, as well as two others containing large amounts of cash.

Officers then went to the home of another woman whose name was written on one of the envelopes. She provided a similar account, saying she had received a call from her purported grandson, who lives out of state, stating that he was arrested after an accident.

She then received a call from his supposed lawyer, “Richard Egan,” instructing her to withdraw $15,000. She did so and gave it to the “bail bondsman,” who also matched Carter’s description.

Meanwhile, another report was made the same day in Hibbing. The victim there told police she had also received a call from a man identifying himself as Richard Egan, a lawyer representing her grandson.

The victim went to her bank and placed $17,200 in an envelope before handing it off to the alleged courier who arrived at her home. Police said descriptions of the man, as well as a photo of his SUV taken by a suspicious neighbor, again pointed to Carter.

Despite Carter’s arrest, the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office took another report the following day in Cohasset after family members stopped another near-victim from turning over $16,800.

The victim provided a similar account of her grandson being arrested after a car accident. She said she was contacted by the alleged lawyer, Egan, and told that a cash payment would get him out of jail immediately, while a check would delay his release by 48 hours. She was also told her grandson was under a “gag order” and could not talk.

The woman told investigators she withdrew the funds, informing the bank teller it was for a vacation because she did not want to disclose what had happened with her grandson.

The woman’s daughter, however, found out about the transaction and, through a series of calls, another person was asked to go to her house to stop her from turning over the money.

The man told police he arrived and found a man, later identified as Munoz-Huertas, in an SUV. He took a photo, which he then provided to investigators, and the suspect left without receiving the envelope.

Police found the SUV in Grand Rapids a short time later and arrested Munoz-Huertas.

In a statement, with the assistance of an interpreter, he said he was a native of Colombia and has lived in the U.S. for about 2½ years. He said he traveled to Itasca County from Illinois because an acquaintance in Florida asked him to go to the Cohasset address and pick up a package.

Munoz-Huertas said he inquired if the package contained drugs, but was told it was cash and that he’d receive $500. He claimed he did not know he was involved in a swindle, indicating he wanted to cooperate in the investigation and repeatedly asking if he would be deported.

Carter posted a $40,000 bond with conditions after his arraignment in State District Court last week. Munoz-Huertas remains in custody and is subject to a federal hold, according to jail records.

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Both were slated to make court appearances again Wednesday.

Court documents indicate other area residents reported similar scam attempts last week, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported victims “have been taken for large sums of money in the Britt, Ely, and Hibbing areas.”

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office warns that con artists targeting grandparents often direct victims not to share information with anyone else out of embarrassment and create a sense of urgency, which can allow the scammers to avoid detection.

Anyone receiving a similar call is urged to take steps to verify the person’s identity and resist pressure to turn over money quickly and secretly. Residents should hang up or ignore scam calls and immediately report incidents to 911, the sheriff’s office said.