Thirteen Dominican Republic citizens have been charged over claims they scammed 400 U.S. grandparents, who thought their grandchildren needed money, in a scheme that amassed more than $5 million in losses.
Federal authorities accuse the defendants of running a “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic that targeted elderly victims in the United States into giving away tens of thousands of dollars by pretending to be a victim’s grandchild or someone assisting the grandchild, according to the affidavit. Some of the defendants live in the Dominican Republic while some live in the U.S.
The defendants would call the victim, impersonate the victim’s grandchild or other loved one, and then convince the victim that the loved one is in legal or medical trouble requiring money to help remedy, the filing says.
The caller then directs the victims to hand cash to a courier, ship cash, or arrange for victims to be driven to a bank to withdraw cash, prosecutors allege.
Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia is accused of leading the operation. He oversaw call centers in the Dominican Republic, where the fraudulent calls were made by his co-conspirators, the document claims. These call centers typically ran out of residences.
Employees at the call centers either functioned as “openers,” who impersonated grandchildren in trouble, and “closers,” who impersonated attorneys for the grandchildren and directed the victims to send cash, the filing states.
A script for “openers” shows that the defendants would sometimes identify themselves in vague terms, like “your oldest grandson.” The caller would then lay out a tragic scenario, like a car crash, according to authorities.
The call center employees would often call victims again — two or three times — and ask for more money for their grandchildren, offering a variety of excuses, such as claiming that a “pregnant woman’s baby was lost in the crash,” federal prosecutors said.
The scheme relied on so-called “runners,” who picked up cash from the victims. The “runners” would then order a ride-share car to the home of the victim, who would provide the cash. The “unwitting” ride-share drivers then deliver the packages to the “runners” locations, the prosecutors allege.
At least 50 of the 400 victims, who average an age of 84, are based in Massachusetts, the affidavit states.
Nine of the defendants are in custody while four remain at large, as of Tuesday evening. The four at-large defendants are from New York, Florida, and New Jersey.
All face money laundering conspiracy charges, while most of them also face conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud charges, both of which carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
