The U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern
District of Pennsylvania released the below information yesterday:
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M.
McSwain announced today that Yahaira Diaz, 33, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, was
charged by Information with aggravated identity theft, mail fraud, and access
device fraud. The charges against the defendant stem from her
participation in what has been popularly dubbed the “Grandparents Scheme”, a
type of elder financial abuse. The charges come one day in advance of
“World Elder Abuse Awareness Day” on June 15, 2019.
As alleged in the
Information, the scheme operated as follows: an individual called an elderly
victim posing as the grandchild of the victim, or posing as an attorney
representing the grandchild. The caller claimed that the grandchild was in a
vehicular accident and was arrested for driving under the influence (or some
type of legal trouble). The caller then said that the grandchild needed money
for bail or legal representation, and persuaded the victim to send thousands of
dollars in cash via overnight delivery service to an address where the schemers
retrieved the package. The schemers then continued to call the victim and
demand more money until the victim realized that he or she had been defrauded
and stopped sending money.
In those telephone
calls, to further convince the grandparents to send cash, the co-schemers
described the grandchild’s situation as increasingly serious: claiming that the
grandchild had been arrested for driving under the influence; that a pregnant
woman was involved in the accident; that the pregnant woman and her unborn
child were injured or killed; that the grandchild would not be released from
prison without additional funds; and that legal and other fees were mounting.
Diaz allegedly played a
leadership role in this scheme, which she and her co-schemers perpetrated in
Allentown and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For example, she identified and arranged
for access to residential locations where her co-schemers instructed victims to
send the fraud proceeds. Diaz recruited and controlled additional participants
in the scheme who allowed her to use their residences for the receipt of
proceeds, and who helped retrieve the packages and shared the proceeds with
other co-schemers.
Diaz engaged in
numerous incidents of the Grandparents Scheme as well as credit card fraud,
which is also charged in the Information. In the Grandparents Scheme, Diaz and
her co-schemers defrauded at least 10 elderly victims of at least $158,800 and
attempted to defraud those victims of at least an additional $69,000. If
convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 72 years in
prison, including a mandatory minimum term of two years in prison.
“Crimes against the
elderly target some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and schemes
like the ‘Grandparent Scheme’ are particularly heinous because they prey on a
senior’s love for their family,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The Department of
Justice is committed to protecting our seniors from fraud, and my Office will
continue to prioritize prosecuting criminals who prey on our elderly
residents.”
“Trying to scam
strangers out of money is criminal,” said Michael T. Harpster, Special Agent in
Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “Specifically targeting elderly
victims because you figure they're easy marks is cruel. The FBI will never stop
working to shut down elder fraud schemes like this to protect older folks and
help them hang on to their hard-earned money.”
“Crimes like these
against our elderly citizens are taken very seriously by law enforcement. The
Bethlehem Police Department, working with its Federal partners, will
investigate, arrest and prosecute individuals involved in criminal scams like
these ‘Grandparent Scams,” said Mark DiLuzio, Chief of Police, Bethlehem Police
Department. “As Chief, I would like to personally thank U.S. Attorney McSwain
and his Office, the FBI, U.S. Postal inspectors, the Northampton County
District Attorney’s Office and Bethlehem Police Detectives who all worked
collectively and brought this person and her partners to justice. On behalf of
all elderly citizens in the City of Bethlehem, thank you!”
The case was
investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal
Service, the Bethlehem Police Department, and the Northampton County District Attorney’s
Office, and is being prosecuted by Deputy United States Attorney Louis D.
Lappen.
An indictment,
information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Department of
Justice is committed to combating elder fraud. The Department’s historic 2018
and 2019
Elder Fraud Sweeps collectively brought criminal and civil
actions against more than 500 defendants responsible for defrauding more than
$1.5 billion from at least 3 million victims.
The Department of
Justice also provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud
victimization through its Office of Victims of Crime
(OVC), which has announced a new competitive solicitation addressing enhanced
multidisciplinary teams for older victims of abuse and financial exploitation
(up to $375,000 each) and funding for a National Multidisciplinary Team
Technical Assistance Center (for up to $3 million), which will help facilitate
the expansion of elder abuse case review across the nation. The deadline is
July 7, 2019.
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 its website.
Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
or at 877-FTC-HELP.
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