The indictment, unsealed on April 29, alleges their participation in a scheme that targeted hundreds of seniors across several states including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Both men made their initial court appearance yesterday and were ordered detained pending trial.
Two residents from Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic have been extradited to the United States and appeared in Newark federal court on charges related to their involvement in a wide-ranging "grandparent scam" that defrauded elderly Americans out of millions of dollars.
Rafael Ambiorix Rodriguez Guzman, also known as Max Morgan, aged 59, and Felix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, also known as Fili and Filly The Kid, aged 37, are among 11 Dominican nationals indicted on 19 counts in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The indictment, unsealed on April 29, alleges their participation in a scheme that targeted hundreds of seniors across several states including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Both men made their initial court appearance yesterday and were ordered detained pending trial.
“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.”
According to court documents, Rodriguez Guzman, Reynoso Ventura, and their associates operated call centers in the Dominican Republic, where they impersonated victims' family members in distress, such as grandchildren needing bail due to a purported accident. Using technology to spoof calls from within the United States, the perpetrators convinced elderly victims to send thousands of dollars in cash to help their supposedly troubled loved ones. The funds were collected either by couriers or mailed as directed by the scammers.
Rodriguez Guzman and Reynoso Ventura each face charges including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison per count, along with substantial fines.
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