“This case is so heart-wrenching because good, kind people gave part of their life savings after being tricked into thinking they were helping a loved one,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement.

Mohammed Kahn, also known as Mohammed Kann, 36, duped four residents of Utah and Texas into sending him more than $83,000 at various addresses in Lowell, authorities said.

A Lowell man was sentenced to serve at least four years in jail after his conviction this week in an elaborate scam in which he conned elderly victims into sending bail money for grandchildren who had supposedly been arrested, officials said.


Kahn was convicted Friday of seven counts of larceny over $250 from a person over the age of 60, as well as for being a common and notorious thief, the Middlesex district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Judge Diane Kottmyer sentenced Kahn to serve four to five years in state prison followed by five years of probation and to pay restitution to the victims of $81,000. The judge called the scam “diabolical,” according to the district attorney’s office.

Using unlisted phone numbers, some with Quebec area codes, Kahn called four Utah and Texas residents in February, claiming to be the victim’s grandchild. The callers said they had been arrested, were in custody, and needed money to make bail, the district attorney’s office said.

These first calls were followed by others from people claiming to be assisting with the bail arrangement, asking that the money be sent to one of four Lowell addresses.

After the payment was received, a caller would tell the grandparents that the charges against their grandchild had been “upgraded” and more money was needed to pay for additional counsel, officials said.

The victims were told to keep the transactions and charges confidential because of a claimed gag order. Once they were finally able to speak with their grandchildren and found that the information they had received was false, they contacted police.


An investigation identified Kahn as the person who received a series of cash packages at the “bogus” Lowell addresses.

Lowell police arrested Kahn on February 21. He went to trial on Dec. 8 and was convicted by a Middlesex County Superior Court jury Friday.

Jennifer Smith can be reached at jennifer.smith@globe.com