Sixteen people were charged in connection with a scam concocted from the Dominican Republic against dozens of elderly Americans and amounting to millions of dollars, the US Department of Justice (DOJ, for its acronym in English).
Among the defendants are 11 Dominicans who face 19 counts of conspiracy to commit postal and electronic fraudas well as money laundering, among others.
The defendants participated in a long-running scam operated from a call center in Dominican Republic which targeted “grandparents” residing in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, as detailed by the DOJ in a statement.
The scam began with the ‘openers’ calling the elderly posing as children, grandchildren or other close relatives, asking for financial help to get out of trouble following a car accident.
The scam was carried out from centers in Dominican Republic who used technology to make it appear that the calls came from a American telephone number.
Once the ‘openers’ managed to convince the victims, other alleged scammers who worked in call centers, known as ‘closers’, possibly posed as defense attorneys, police officers or court personnel, and convinced victims to provide thousands of . cash to help your loved ones.
The ‘closers’ usually convinced the victims to hand over the cash to ‘messengers’ who were sent to the homes. The latter often used false names and provided false receipts to victims.
Juan Rafael Parra Arias, 41 years old; Nefy Vladimir Parra Arias, 39; Nelson Rafael González Acevedo, 35; Rafael Ambiorix Rodríguez Guzmán, 59; Miguel Angel Fortuna Solano, 41; Félix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, 37; Carlos Javier Estévez, 45; Louis Junior Rodríguez Serrano, 27; Miguel Ángel Vásquez, 24; Jovanni Antonio Rosario García, 45, and José Ismael Dilone Rodríguez, 34, make up the group accused of directing the operation from the Dominican Republic.
Endy José Torres Morán, 21 years old; Ivan Alexander Inoa Suero, 32; Jhonny Cepeda, 27; Ramón Hurtado, 43, and Yuleisy Roque, 21, all residents of New York and who acted as couriers, complete the list of defendants.
Prosecutor Arun G. Rao warned in a statement that his office will continue to identify suspects in these plots and “prioritizing the prosecution of those who deliberately target vulnerable consumers, whether they are in the USA or abroad”.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count, a maximum fine of 250,000 for each count of mail and wire fraud, and a maximum fine of 500,000 for each count of money laundering.
Source: Gestion
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