An unlicensed pest exterminator and an air-duct cleaner were arrested Wednesday in connection with $500,000 scamming against elderly Southern California, police said.
Eldad Syton, 33, and Yair Zilberman, 30, allegedly worked together over a two-year period to scam $500,000 out of couples, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said.
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Syton and Zilberman would convince the victims that they needed more work on their homes than what was required, officials said.
Syton posed as a pest exterminator and would charge a set fee to elderly clients and then claim they had mold and termites. He would then charge them large amounts of money for work he never performed, authorities said.
Zilberman would operate similarly, but also opened a line of credit in one victim's name and forged several of their checks, police said.
The suspects are charged together with two counts each of theft from an elder and nine counts of first-degree burglary, police said.
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Syton faces 16 additional counts of theft and Zilberman 17.
If convicted, each man faces up to 36 years in prison, with Zilberman given an additional four months, prosecutors said.
