Two residents of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, were extradited to the United States last week and made their initial appearance in Newark federal court yesterday on charges relating to their participation in a sprawling “grandparent scam” that defrauded elderly Americans out of millions of dollars.
Rafael Ambiorix Rodriguez Guzman, also known as Max Morgan, 59, and Felix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, also known as Fili and Filly The Kid, 37, are among 11 Dominican Nationals charged in a 19-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that was unsealed on April 29. Following their initial appearance yesterday, the court ordered both men detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, Rodriguez Guzman, Reynoso Ventura and their co-conspirators engaged in a long-running “grandparent” or “family in need of bail” scam against hundreds of seniors across the United States, including in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Both Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura are alleged to have worked in the call centers in the Dominican Republic from which the scam operated, where they phoned elderly Americans and sought to steal their money.
As detailed in court filings, members of the conspiracy referred to as “openers” called elderly victims in the United States and impersonated the victims’ children, grandchildren or other close relatives. The call centers used technology to make it appear that the calls were coming from inside the United States. Typically, the victim was told that their grandchild had been in a car accident, was arrested in connection with an accident and needed help.
Once openers tricked victims into believing their loved ones were in dire trouble, others working at the call centers, known as “closers” — including Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura — allegedly impersonated defense attorneys, police officers or court personnel and convinced victims to provide thousands of dollars in cash to help their loved ones. The cash was typically retrieved by couriers sent to the victims’ homes or mailed by victims at the direction of the closers.
Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura each face multiple charges, including mail and wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count, a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count of the mail and wire fraud charges and a maximum fine of $500,000 for money laundering conspiracy.
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue criminals who defraud victims through so-called ‘grandparent scams,’” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to identify perpetrators of these schemes and prioritize the pursuit of those who deliberately target vulnerable Americans from abroad. We thank the government of the Dominican Republic for extraditing these defendants to the United States to face charges.”
“As alleged, these two defendants played a role in a scheme that relied on the love and devotion of elderly victims in order to cheat them out of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “In this ‘grandparents’ scam,’ some of the defendants allegedly impersonated grandchildren in distress, claiming, for example, they had been arrested after a car accident involving a pregnant woman who later miscarried, and they needed immediate cash for bail or a lawyer. Conspirators like Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura allegedly impersonated a variety of people – police officers, lawyers and others – to convince the victims to pay up, which the panic-stricken grandparents often did. My office is committed to protecting the rights of all victims, and we will relentlessly prosecute those who allegedly target vulnerable seniors to steal their hard-earned savings.”
“These defendants and their co-conspirators are accused of heartlessly robbing countless elderly victims of their precious time and often their life savings – all from more than 1,500 miles away, said Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “Rafael Ambiorix Rodriguez Guzman and Felix Samuel Reynoso Ventura were among the 16 individuals charged in this appalling scheme, which spanned at least four U.S. states and allegedly threatened hundreds of innocent Americans’ livelihoods. The merciless greed of perpetrators is boundless, but is no match for HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force, its Cyber Intrusion Group and the greater law enforcement community. I am proud to stand alongside our global partners in our relentless commitment to the safety and overall wellbeing of the vulnerable public."
“The grandparent scam is a cruel fraud scheme that deliberately preys on elderly and vulnerable persons within society. Perpetrators, often cowardly operating off-shore, cause extreme emotional and financial harm to the innocent people they target in commission of this crime,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Parker of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) Boston New York Field Division. “SSA OIG proudly joined HSI, the FBI, the Justice Department and the NYPD in investigating these complex, international scams aimed at defrauding SSA beneficiaries and we appreciate the diligence of the U.S. Marshals Service in facilitating the extradition of these defendants from the Dominican Republic to New Jersey to hold them accountable for their actions.”
“We are now one step closer to holding accountable the alleged fraudsters who financially exploited hundreds of elderly Americans,” said Commissioner Edward A. Caban of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). “This should serve as a reminder to other criminals about the extensive reach of New York law enforcement and our unwavering commitment to delivering justice to all victims. I applaud our NYPD investigators and all of our federal partners for their dedication to this important case.”
HSI, SSA-OIG, NYPD and the FBI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition from the Dominican Republic of the defendants with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Justice Department officials also recognized the critical cooperation of the Dominican government in effecting the extradition of Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura pursuant to the treaty between the two countries.
Trial Attorneys Jason Feldman, Joshua Ferrentino and Emily Powers of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane for the District of Jersey are prosecuting the case.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.