By Michael Donoghue

Twenty-five Canadians, who were part of a multi-million dollar “Grandparent Scam” have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Vermont on fraud and money laundering charges.

The indictment was unsealed Tuesday as Canadian authorities, with support from U.S. federal law enforcement, worked to continue the round up the criminal defendants.  As of Tuesday afternoon it appeared all but two defendants were in custody.

The conspiracy is believed to have pocketed $21 million by stealing from victims across at least 45 states, including all six New England states and New York, between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, according to the indictment.

“In total, the Grandparent Scam defrauded hundreds of elderly victims across the United States out of millions of dollars per year,” the indictment said. 

The defendants conspired to defraud elderly individuals in Vermont and elsewhere through phone calls made from call centers in and around the Montreal area. 

During the phone calls members of the conspiracy used impersonation and falsehoods to convince elderly victims that their loved ones, typically a grandchild, had been arrested after a car crash and needed money for bail, the indictment said.

Other defendants posed as an “attorney” representing the elderly victim’s relative. Elderly victims were often told that there was a “gag order” in place to prevent them from telling anyone about their family member’s supposed arrest.

Elderly victims were convinced to provide bail money to an individual falsely posing as a bail bondsman, who would come to the elderly victim’s home to collect the money, records show.

The money was later transmitted to Canada following cash deliveries and financial transactions, sometimes involving cryptocurrency, which, the Indictment maintains, obscured the source of the money and the identities of defendants.

On June 4, 2024, when law enforcement in Canada executed search warrants at several call centers, many of the defendants were found in the act of placing phone calls to elderly victims in Virginia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The money laundering charge maintains the defendants knowingly conducted financial transactions which involved proceeds from wire fraud.

The indictment stems in part from a joint investigation in Vermont that included Homeland Security Investigations in South Burlington and the criminal division of the Internal Revenue Service.

In recent years there have been 9 other people charged in Vermont  as part of the Grandparent Scam.   They are: Otmane Khalladi (32 – Miami, Florida), Jean Richard Audate (39 – New York, New York), Philippe Alvarez (34 – Montréal, Québec), Paul Conneh (37 – Guangzhou, China), Dave Leblanc (37 – Greenacres, Florida), Zavier Buchanan (27 – Wellington, Florida), William Comfort (29 – Los Angeles, California), Alejandro Garcia (34 – Miami, Florida), and Enmanuel Castillo (31 – Miami, Florida).

Most are still awaiting sentencing.

Michael P. Drescher, Acting U.S. Attorney for Vermont praised the work of the federal investigators over several years.

“While the transnational criminal conspiracy described in the Indictment preyed on vulnerable victims throughout the United States, these charges are the result of painstaking investigatory work by Vermont-based agents from Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Protection, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation,” Drescher said. 

He said it would not have been possible without the extensive investigative help from the Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and numerous other local, state, and federal investigators across the United States.

Among the main players in the indictment made public today are:

–Gareth West, a.k.a. “Buddy” and “Muscles,” (38 – Burlington, Ontario)

–Usman Khalid, a.k.a. “Paul” and “Pauly,” (36 – Les Coteaux, Québec)

–Andrew Tatto, a.k.a. “Chevy” and “Truck,” (43 – Pierrefonds, Québec)

–Stephan Moskwyn, a.k.a. “HK,” (Pierrefonds, Québec)

— Ricky Ylimaki, a.k.a. “Ruffles,” (31 – Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec)

They reportedly ran the Montreal area call centers and were named in both counts of the indictment, including the conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The other 20 defendants worked at the call centers and perpetrated the scams by making bogus calls, the indictment said.

The indictment notes that other unnamed individuals were part of the fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont identified the other defendants as:

— Richard Frischman, a.k.a. “Styx,” (31 – Montréal, Québec)

–Adam Lawrence, a.k.a. “Carter,” (41 – Lasalle, Québec)

— Michael Filion, a.k.a. “Elvis,” (45 – Pierrefonds, Québec)

— Jimmy Ylimaki, a.k.a. “Coop,” (35 – Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec)

— Nicolas Gonzalez, a.k.a. “Brady,” (27 – Kirkland, Québec)

— Ryan Melanson, a.k.a. “Parker,” (27 – Montréal, Québec)

— Joy Kalafatidis, a.k.a. “Blondie,” (31 – Pointe-Claire, Québec)

— David Arcobelli, a.k.a. “Phil,” (36 – Pierrefonds, Québec)

— Jonathan Massouras, a.k.a. “Borze,” (35 – Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec)

— Nicholas Shiomi, a.k.a. “Keanu,” (42 – Montréal, Québec)

— Antonio Iannacci, a.k.a. “DJ,” (33 – Pierrefonds, Québec)

— Jonathan Ouellet, a.k.a. “Sunny,” (29 – Saint-Eustache, Québec)

— Kassey-Lee Lankford, a.k.a. “Lex,” (28 – Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec)

— Sara Burns, a.k.a. “Ginger,” (31 – Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec)

— Justin Polenz, a.k.a. “Happy,” (34 – Montréal, Québec)

— Ryan Thibert, a.k.a. “Toast,” (37 – Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec)

— Michael Farella, a.k.a. “Honda,” (29 – Sainte-Geneviève, Québec)

— Sebastian Guenole, a.k.a. “Tweeter,” (30 – Pierrefonds, Québec)

REACTION TO ARRESTS 

Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England said it took teamwork to shutdown the fraud.

“These individuals are accused of an elaborate scheme using fear to extort millions of dollars from victims who believed they were helping loved ones in trouble. Today’s arrests are the result of

domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada…”

Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation in Boston echoed teamwork was important in tracking the nationwide scam.

“West and his associates led a transnational criminal enterprise with the sole intent of defrauding hundreds of retirees of their life savings by preying on their emotions and deceiving them into thinking that their loved ones were in peril, he said.  The IRS will continue to work with law enforcement partners, both at home and abroad, to stop and deter anyone who seeks to profit off the hard work of U.S. citizens.”