Two men are facing federal charges for their alleged roles in “grandparent scams” in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to the Warwick Police Department.

Jason Rhodes, 34, of Flushing, New York, and Robert Munoz, 29, of Miami, Florida, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. 

The two were released on unsecured bond and GPS monitoring after appearing before a federal magistrate judge on Friday.

Rhodes and Munoz were allegedly operating as couriers and collected approximately $230,000 from unsuspecting seniors.

ELDERLY RHODE ISLAND RESIDENTS CHEATED OUT OF OVER $300K COMBINED IN SCAM, 3 SENT TO PRISON

They were arrested back in March when a victim reported to Warwick police that they had been scammed, which police were able to identify as an ongoing scheme.

The scams often target grandparents or the elderly via phone calls claiming that a loved one needs bail money because they have been arrested. The courier will then attempt to collect the money posing as another family member or attorney. 

Warwick police night detectives worked with Special Operations Group, Financial Crimes and Criminal Investigations units, as well as the victims, to set up an operation to capture Rhodes as he was arriving at a victim’s residence to collect the victim’s money. It was then that they recognized him from a similar scam that had been reported in Rhode Island.

Detectives were able to take Rhodes into custody following a short foot pursuit. Munoz, who was the alleged getaway driver, was also arrested.

ELDERLY AMERICANS SCAMMED OUT OF MILLIONS BY FOREIGNERS POSING AS GRANDCHILDREN IN TROUBLE

A warrant was then issued for a hotel room in Munoz’s name where the detectives seized evidence connecting the two to other “grandparent scams,” $60,000 in cash and other items.

The Warwick Police Department urges anyone who believes they may be a victim of this scam or a similar one to contact their respective police department.

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If you or someone you know is aged 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).

SOUTH KINGSTOWN — This first meeting between the University of Rhode Island women and Stonehill went about how you might expect. 

The Rams played in the Atlantic 10 tournament championship game last season. The Skyhawks won just four times and are entering only their third year in Division I. 

The result on this Monday night at the Ryan Center was a predictable one. URI muscled its way to a 68-45 victory, with a reworked rotation smothering the visitors at the defensive end and on the glass. 

“Pretty pleased with how we executed,” URI coach Tammi Reiss said. “Really asked the team to come out and just play hard. Let the game come to them. And they did that.” 

Stonehill shot just 33.3% from the field, including 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. The Skyhawks committed 25 turnovers and put only two players in double figures. Portsmouth native Kylie Swider and Brooke Paquette each hit for 15 points — their teammates went a combined 5-for-28 from the floor. 

“Everyone wants to play offense,” Reiss said. “When that’s not flowing, will you do the other things? Tonight that’s what they did — and that’s who they are.” 

More: The madness starts Monday night for local college basketball teams. Here’s a breakdown

The Rams were led by a nice debut from San Diego transfer Harsimran Kaur. She finished with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes. Kaur needed just this opening night to equal her one start with the Torreros last season. She came up a field goal shy of her career-high 21 points in a March game against Pepperdine. 

“This team, these girls, just make it easy for me to jump in and lead,” Kaur said. “I would give all the credit to my team and my coaches. They let me be comfortable in my own skin.” 

Kaur claimed an immediate role after the departures of frontcourt regulars Mayé Touré (Utah) and Tenin Magassa (Oklahoma State). Hawa Komara added 10 points and 13 boards while Anaelle Dutat chipped in four points and seven rebounds. 

“Watching all the film on her and her capabilities, I knew that she could be a double-double,” Reiss said. “It was finding someone who could replace Mayé and have an impact for our team.” 

How will URI generate some perimeter offense?  

Sophia Vital’s 3-pointer with 4:51 left in the second quarter was the team’s first field goal outside the paint. The Rams were just 4-for-17 from deep and didn’t make a free throw until Sophie Phillips knocked down her second of two with 3:24 to play in the first half. 

“It really was just settling down,” Reiss said. “That first game is always a little tight — a lot of missed layups, a lot of miscues, getting the jitters out.” 

Ines Debroise finished with eight points and seven assists against only one turnover in 24 minutes. She combined with Dutat and Komara to average just 10.3 points per game last season. They’ll need to produce before Palmire Mbu (NCAA requirements) is cleared after the season’s third game and freshman Ayanna Franks finds her way. 

“My job is to be the point guard,” Debroise said. “Just get to know all of my teammates and know where I can put them in the best position to score.” 

URI (1-0) put this one away late in the first half. 

It was a 20-20 game after Swider knocked down a jumper along the right baseline with 6:01 to play in the second quarter. Stonehill (0-1) was on the wrong end of a 17-3 run over the rest of the half, with the Rams allowing just 1-for-8 shooting. 

“They play hard for you,” Reiss said. “I told them the most important thing tonight was how hard we played.” 

Franks collected a team-high three steals, one of eight URI players who notched at least one. Kaur racked up four blocked shots before halftime, nearly half of the 10 recorded by the Rams in the game.  

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25 

More than 25% of Rhode Island’s registered voters already cast ballots in the Nov. 5 election as of midday Monday, according to the Rhode Island Department of State turnout tracker.

Early voting continues through 4 p.m. Monday, with designated locations in every city and town.

The 205,220 Rhode Islanders who cast ballots by mail or early, in-person as of noon represent more than 40% of total turnout in the 2020 presidential election. The 2020 election saw 64% participation among Rhode Island voters, with nearly two-thirds voting by mail or through early “emergency” in-person voting authorized because of the pandemic. In 2016, total turnout was just under 60%.

This year marks the first presidential election cycle featuring expanded mail voting and regular, in-person early voting hours in Rhode Island — thanks to a law passed in June 2022 — making it difficult to compare voting behavior this year with past election cycles, said John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island.

“We’re just settling into new patterns of voting as these choices expand,” Marion said in an interview Monday. “It’s going to take a while for patterns to emerge.”

Marion was surprised, though, that early, in-person voting appeared more popular among Rhode Island voters than mail ballots, contrary to the trends in other states that offer both mail and in-person, early voting.

More than 157,000 Rhode Islanders had voted early, in-person as of noon, compared with nearly 48,000 who submitted ballots by mail.

A line at Warwick City Hall Friday

Enthusiasm for pre-Election Day voting was strongest in Warwick, where nearly 10,800 voters cast ballots at City Hall by midday Monday. Mayor Frank Picozzi pointed to Warwick’s high turnout in past presidential election cycles as explanation for its strong numbers ahead of Tuesday.

Unlike other state or local candidates, though, Picozzi has not put early voting at the forefront of his own reelection campaign. 

“As long as people vote, I don’t care how they do it,” Picozzi said in an interview Monday morning.

Picozzi, an independent vying for his second term, cast his ballot on the first day of early voting on Oct. 16. At the time, City Hall was still quiet, which was not the case on Friday, when voters waited upwards of an hour during peak times to cast ballots, Picozzi said.

Social media reports showed long lines winding around Warwick City Hall again on Monday.

Neighboring Cranston, however, has not seen lines longer than a minute, despite several days of record-breaking early voting numbers, said Nick Lima, city elections director.

Weekend hours in four communities

Cranston was one of four municipalities that extended early voting hours into the weekend — alongside Providence, East Providence, and North Kingstown. On Saturday, more than 15,000 voters came to the Pastore Youth Center on Gansett Avenue in Cranston during designated early voting hours, Lima said.

“Aside from parking being a little tight, it’s not been a problem,” said Lima.

The Cranston Board of Canvassers shifted its early voting location from City Hall to the youth center in order to accommodate the larger crowds expected.

Lima chalked up the strong turnout to the headline presidential race along with a host of state and local races of interest. Alongside a contentious mayoral contest between Republican Mayor Ken Hopkins and his Democratic challenger, City Councilor Robert Ferri, all nine city council seats feature contested matchups.

Mail ballots most popular in Providence

Providence boasted the third-highest number of ballots cast or mailed in, but the highest number of mail ballots, with more than 5,600 mail ballots as of midday Monday. That reflects a “local culture,” in the capital city, where candidates make mail ballot voting a central part of their strategy, Marion said.

“Campaigns adjust their mobilization tactics based on what options exist,” Marion said. “In the same way that campaigns in Providence emphasize mail ballots, it may very well be that campaigns in Warwick are emphasizing early voting.”

The lack of contested state and local races across Providence might also work to the city’s advantage in racking up votes ahead of Election Day; research suggests voters who are undecided are more likely to wait until the day of to participate.

All three cities with the highest numbers of early voting — Warwick, Cranston, and Providence — backed Biden in 2020. Multiple polls, including a University of New Hampshire poll released Sunday, show Rhode Island voters backing Harris by double-digit percentage points this year, though certain cities and towns in the western part of the state will be close calls between Harris and Trump.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all cities and towns on Election Day, except for Block Island, where polls open at 9 a.m. Voters can find their Election Day polling place by looking up their voting record online here.

Mail ballots must be returned to the Board of Elections via a secure drop box, a local board of canvassers’ office or an in-person polling place by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.

Rhode Island does not allow same-day registration for local and state elections; however, unregistered voters can still vote in the presidential race at specific, designated voting locations within the state.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections will begin releasing results of the Nov. 5 election shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. But final results, including those from military and overseas voters, will not be tallied for several more days. The elections board expects to certify results on Nov. 12.