John thought he was doing his neighbors a favor, making sure that the meat and fish they ordered were paid for and didn’t rot. After the salesman left with a $600 check, leaving some packages of meat and fish, John, who’s in his late 80s, knew he’d been swindled.

&uot;John,&uot; a rural Freeborn County resident, said he’s embarrassed and didn’t want his real name used. &uot;Gosh, it goes against me because it’s my fault,&uot; John said.

Statistics on swindles aimed at elderly folks are hard to come by. Many law-enforcement investigators note that elderly people are often targeted, because they’re often trusting, friendly and eager to listen.

It’s not something John thought could have happened before.

On Wednesday afternoon at his home in rural Freeborn County, a man knocked on his door with what he said was a delivery of meat for his neighbor, who wasn’t home. John said the man told him, &uot;It’s warming up, so we need to get in the deep freeze right away.&uot;

&uot;He was a slippery son of a gun,&uot; John said.

&uot;He talked as nice as anyone.&uot;

He trusted the man and agreed to put the goods into his freezer and pay for it. The widower, who lives alone, said he can’t see well and had the man fill out the check. &uot;He filled it out, put it in his pocket and was out the door.&uot;

&uot;After he left, I knew blame well he was lying,&uot; John said. He called his neighbor and told him, &uot;I did the craziest thing I ever done.&uot;

His neighbor, who hadn’t ordered any meat to be delivered, called the bank to stop payment but the check had already been cashed.

Sheriff’s deputies are still investigating the case to determine the extent of the crime.

Darrel Hildebrant, a crime prevention specialist with the Rochester Police Department, said swindles of elderly people are more common than swindles of other people. He said elderly people tend to be more accessible, and sometimes a swindler will be the only person they’ve talked to all day.

John was a little disappointed with himself. &uot;How this happened, I don’t know. I should have told him to get off the place,&uot; he said. That’s what he said he told people when they tried this when he was younger. He said its not a huge financial loss, but $600 is a lot of money.

John’s neighbor said he was angry that John had been taken advantage of by a thief. &uot;That guy slept a lot better than I did last night,&uot; he said.

But he said what really got to him was that there’s somebody doing something like this at all.

&uot;I don’t care if it happened to someone down the road or to someone in Albert Lea &045; it just ain’t right.&uot;

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)