Associated Incidents
Nearly two dozen Canadians were arrested Tuesday and charged with participating in a “grandparent scam” that targeted elderly people in the United States, federal prosecutors announced.
A federal grand jury last month charged 25 Canadians with participating in a conspiracy that allegedly defrauded American citizens in more than 40 states out of $21 million between 2021 and 2024. All but two of the people charged in the case were arrested Tuesday in Canada, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont.
Federal prosecutors allege that between the summer of 2021 and June 2024, the 25 people charged in the conspiracy made phone calls from call centers around Montréal to elderly American citizens in Vermont and more than 40 other states, telling the victim that a relative, usually a grandchild, had been arrested after a car crash and needed money for bail. Some of those charged also allegedly posed as an attorney representing the relative of the victim.
“Elderly victims were often told that there was a ‘gag order’ in place to prevent the elderly victim from telling anyone about their family member’s supposed arrest,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement. “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.”
The collected money was transmitted to Canada using cash deliveries and sometimes using cryptocurrency, according to prosecutors.
When law enforcement in Canada executed search warrants at the call centers in June last year, “many” of those charged were in the act of placing phone calls to victims in Virginia, prosecutors said.
“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,”Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said in a statement. “Today’s arrests are the result of domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada, Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Tackling transnational crime is one of our greatest priorities and we’re working hand-in-hand with our neighbors to dismantle organized criminal groups that threaten our safety and security.”
Prosecutors said the following individuals were arrested and charged in the case on Tuesday:
- Usman Khalid, 36, of Les Coteaux, Québec
- Andrew Tatto, 43, of Pierrefonds, Québec
- Stephan Moskwyn, 42, of Pierrefonds
- Ricky Ylimaki, 31, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec
- Richard Frischman, 31, of Montréal
- Adam Lawrence, 41, of Lasalle, Québec
- Michael Filion, 45, of Pierrefonds
- Nicolas Gonzalez, 27, of Kirkland, Québec
- Ryan Melanson, 27, of Montréal
- Joy Kalafatidis, 31, of Pointe-Claire, Québec
- David Arcobelli, 36, of Pierrefonds
- Jonathan Massouras, 35, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec
- Nicholas Shiomi, 42, of Montréal
- Antonio Iannacci, of Pierrefonds
- Jonathan Ouellet, of Saint-Eustache, Québec
- Kassey-Lee Lankford, 28, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec
- Sara Burns, 31, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux
- Justin Polenz, 34, of Montréal
- Ryan Thibert, 37, of Vaudreuil-Dorion
- Michael Farella, 29, of Sainte-Geneviève, Québec
- Sebastian Guenole, 30, of Pierrefonds
- Ryan Bridgman, 37, of Deux-Montagnes, Québec
- Stephanie-Marie Samaras, 29, of Laval, Québec
Authorities said Gareth West, 38, also known as Buddy and Muscles, of Burlington, Ontario; and 35-year-old Jimmy Ylimaki, also known as Coop,of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, remain at large.
Prosecutors allege that the call centers were managed by West, Khalid, Tatto, Moskwyn, and Ricky Ylimaki, and the indictment additionally charges them with conspiring to commit money laundering. West, Khalid, Tatto, Moskwyn, and Ricky Ylimaki, are facing a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison if convicted, while the remaining people charged could see up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office urged anyone who knows someone who has been a victim of elder fraud to contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-FRAUD-11).