Men arrested for defrauding elderly woman

Auckland police have arrested three Manurewa men after an elderly woman was allegedly conned out of $5000 for tree pruning.

Police said the 94-year-old North Shore woman was approached in her home by several men on Monday who offered to prune trees on her property.

They pruned about eight branches before they took her to the bank and allegedly coerced her into paying $5000.

Yesterday police arrested and charged the men with fraud and they were due to appear in North Shore District Court on Monday.

Police said they had recovered $4700.

The woman's family was incensed about the incident and helped police with information about the offenders they had got from the victim's neighbours, police said.

- NZPA