Two men of Dominican nationality were sentenced to two years in prison each in the United States for their participation in a conspiracy to launder money obtained through a fraud scheme targeting the elderly.
The convicted individuals were identified as Luis Alfonso Bisonó Rodríguez, 35, who resided in Cleveland, Ohio, and Engels Guillermo Almengot Valerio, 26, a resident of Paterson, New Jersey. Both must also serve three years of supervised release once their sentences are concluded.
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The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer, after both were found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, reported U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Troy Rivetti.
According to the evidence presented in court, Rodríguez and Valerio participated in an operation that handled funds from a type of scam known as “grandparent fraud,” executed by criminals operating from the Dominican Republic.
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The scheme primarily targeted elderly individuals, who were contacted by scammers posing as a grandchild or another close relative who was supposedly going through an emergency and needed money immediately.
Once the victims were convinced, the members of the organization coordinated with private transport service drivers to collect the cash at the seniors’ homes and subsequently deliver it to other members of the group.
According to the evidence presented to the court, Rodriguez and Valerio received cash directly from some of those drivers. Part of the funds was deposited into bank accounts, while another amount was sent via money transfers to the Dominican Republic.
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The authorities further noted that Valerio was in charge of requesting the transport services used to collect the cash, some of whose deliveries subsequently took the money obtained through the scams to Rodríguez.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway, on behalf of the United States Government.
Prosecutor Troy Rivetti highlighted the work of the FBI and the collaboration of various United States police departments during the investigation that allowed for the identification and prosecution of those involved.
The case highlights a type of fraud in which criminals take advantage of the concern of older adults for their relatives to get them to hand over significant amounts of money under false pretenses.
