By: Richard L. Smith
Three 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.
Federal officials said Juan Rafael Parra Arias, aka “Yofre,” 41; Miguel Angel Vasquez, aka “Miguel Disla,” 24; and Jose Ismael Dilone Rodriguez, 34, are among 11 Dominican Nationals charged in a 19-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and unsealed on April 29.
Following their initial appearance, the court ordered the three men detained pending trial.
Parra Arias, Vasquez, and Dilone Rodriguez's extradition follows that of their co-conspirators Rafael Ambiorix Rodriguez Guzman, aka “Max Morgan,” 59, and Felix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, aka “Fili” and “Filly the Kid,” 37, who appeared in Newark federal court on July 22 to answer the indictment.
According to the indictment, Parra Arias, Vasquez, Dilone Rodriguez, and their 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.
Parra Arias is alleged to have led a network of call centers in Santiago, Dominican Republic, while Vasquez and Dilone Rodriguez worked in these centers to recruit co-conspirators in the United States.
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,” 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 – including those recruited and dispatched by Parra Arias, Vasquez, and Dilone Rodriguez – from the victims’ homes or mailed by victims at the direction of the closers.
Parra Arias, Vasquez, and Dilone Rodriguez each face multiple charges, including mail and wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and 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 mail and wire fraud, and a maximum fine of $500,000 for money laundering conspiracy and money laundering.
