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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