Man robbed at knifepoint in Boston was ordered to send $1,000 through Venmo, DA says
BOSTON - A Taunton man has been charged for a January armed robbery in which he allegedly ordered the victim to send him money over the Venmo app.
Prosecutors say Joshua Alves, 22, impersonated a young woman on the dating site, seeking.com, and held the victim at knifepoint in the North End until he received $1,000 through the mobile payment service.
The victim told police he had planned to originally give the woman $400 for going on the date through the app. It's alleged that he was met after midnight at Cleveland Place by two masked men, one of whom yelled that the victim was trying to date his underage sister.
The victim gave the men $60 in cash but the men told him "that's not good enough." He said he was then ordered to unlock his phone and transfer the $1,000 over Venmo.
Investigators say the recipient of the Venmo money was Alves.
"Technology is continually advancing, and the methods of bad actors are advancing right along with it. This was a very digital-aged crime in that it contained elements of two online entities—a dating site and a Venmo account," said Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, in a statement.
Alves is charged with masked and armed robbery.
He has been ordered to stay away from the the victim, and the North End. He is expected back in court on December 4.
