MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) -- Riley County police say an 82-year-old Manhattan man was the victim of a scam that led him to believe his grandson was in need of money in a foreign country.

Lieutenant Josh Kyle, a spokesman for the Riley County Police Department, says the elderly man was contacted by people in Mexico who falsely presented information to him that his grandson required help and financial assistance in Mexico.

The victim sent $20,333 to Mexico in “several different transactions,” Kyle said, starting on September 24th, 2012.

“It turned out the whole thing was a fraud,” Kyle said. The victim reported the theft to police on October 4, 2012. It remains under investigation.