They called my mother with the same story and I was at work. They kept her on the phone for about 45mins and told her they were going to kill me :( she was all crying and thought he was for real. I reported it to MD Police Department and they said this has happened for the past year or two and these calls are from Puerto Rico. I provided them with the number they called from. Let keep our relatives and families aware of this crazy scam.
My bofriends mom got a call from this # today and same story about a relative who they were going to beat up and that she needed to show up with money. They insulted her and threatened her.
My brother got a call from these jokers and they told him they had his wife and they were going to slit her throat if he did not pay em. We quickly called her though and found out she was fine. But it was a scary 5 minutes.
When you get calls like this, first call your loved ones or friends to know if they are alright. Never ever send money to some cowardly criminal that threatens you. Make sure you report the calls to the cops and other authorities.