Plainfield man scammed by Mexican cartel impostor: records

A man tricked a Plainfield resident into giving him $1,000 by claiming he was from a Mexican cartel and would hurt his family if he didn’t receive money, police said.

On Tuesday, Judge Ken Zelazo signed a warrant for the arrest of Diego Barrientos, 22, of York, Pennsylvania, on charges of theft by deception, wire fraud and financial institution fraud in connection with the incident.

The warrant carries a bond of $50,000.

In a criminal complaint, prosecutors alleged Barrientos fraudulently represented to a man in Plainfield that he was from a Mexican cartel and if he didn’t get $3,000 he would cause harm to the man’s family.

Prosecutors alleged Barrientos induced the man to send $1,000 from his bank account through Zelle, an online service that allows people “to send money directly between almost any U.S. bank accounts, typically within minutes,” according to the company’s website.

Barrientos was also charged with defrauding the alleged victim’s bank through his scheme.

The Plainfield Police Department investigated the incident, which occurred Sept. 20, according to the complaint.