PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Two men from New York and Florida have been arrested for their alleged roles as couriers in grandparent scams that targeted seniors in multiple states including Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the U.S. Attorney said.
Roberto Munoz, 29, of Hialeah, Florida, and Jason Rhodes, 34, of Flushing, New York, are charged by federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in a statement.
Munoz and Rhodes appeared before a federal judge on Friday. Both were released on unsecured bond and GPS electronic monitoring.
Prosecutors allege that in early March, Munoz and Rhodes, working as couriers, traveled to various locations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and collected approximately $230,000 in payments from unsuspecting victims in more than a dozen communities.
An investigation by Warwick Police and Homeland Security Investigations found that Munoz and Rhodes had allegedly been given the names and addresses of grandparent scam victims in Coventry, Newport, Cranston, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, East Greenwich, and Smithfield, Rhode Island; in the Massachusetts communities of Braintree, Hanover, Plymouth, Scituate, Cohasset, Stoughton, and Lakeville; and in Stanhope, Iowa.
A device reportedly seized from Rhodes at the time of his arrest contained chat messages sent to him by Munoz that appear to contain names and addresses of target victims and their grandchildren in Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, North Carolina, and New Jersey, Cunha said.
Grandparent scams often involve an elderly victim receiving a telephone call and being told that a family member, often a grandchild, needs bail because they have been arrested for committing a crime or causing a motor vehicle accident.
Scammers identify themselves as a family member, an attorney, or a member of law enforcement, and direct victims to get cash and give it to a courier who will either arrive to pick up the money, or meet them at a specified drop-off location.
Couriers frequently work in a particular geographical area, where they await instructions and victim information from other people participating in the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Warwick Police arrested Munoz and Rhodes on March 8, as detectives were investigating the third complaint in a week from residents claiming they had been victimized or contacted by scammers.
One set of grandparent victims turned over $18,000 to a courier to cover what they were told was bail for their grandson, prosecutors said. The victims were contacted again and told that their grandchild was now being sued for $100,000, and that a $40,000 payment was immediately required.
When they recognized the demands were part of a scam, the grandparents contacted Warwick Police. Investigators set up surveillance inside and outside the grandparents’ home while waiting for the courier to return.
Police arrested Rhodes at the house when he allegedly arrived to collect the money, and Munoz was arrested while sitting in a car near the home, allegedly waiting for Rhodes to return, Cunha said.
Investigators searched the vehicle and a nearby hotel room registered to Rhodes and seized more than $60,000 in cash and other items.
An investigation remains ongoing. Investigators believe that numerous families in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have been victimized.
The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Newport, Cranston, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, Smithfield, and Coventry, Rhode Island Police Departments; Rhode Island State Police; the Braintree, Hanover, Plymouth, Scituate, Stoughton, Lakeville, and Northbridge, Massachusetts Police Departments; and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department in Iowa.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
This Department of Justice Hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, assists callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting or connect them with agencies, and provide resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis.
The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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