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Federal Court in Louisiana Participates in Justice Department Efforts to Protect Older Adults

Louisiana – On October 4, 2022, the Justice Department published the results of its year-long work to safeguard older persons from fraud and exploitation. During the previous year, the Department and its law enforcement partners dealt with issues ranging from mass-marketing scams affecting thousands of victims to criminal actors defrauding their neighbors. Over the previous year, significant efforts have also been undertaken to restore money to victims of fraud. On October 5, 2022, the Department also announced the expansion of its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force to bolster efforts to combat international scams.

“We are intensifying our efforts nationwide to protect older adults, including by more than tripling the number of U.S. Attorneys’ offices participating in our Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force dedicated to disrupting, dismantling, and prosecuting foreign-based fraud schemes that target American seniors,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This expansion builds on the Justice Department’s existing work to hold accountable those who steal funds from older adults, including by returning those funds to the victims where possible.”

“Elder fraud schemes unfairly target elderly, disabled, and other vulnerable consumers, ensnaring them into fraudulent ventures with wide-reaching consequences and excessive losses, which have a profound effect on our community and nation. With the continued cooperation from our investigative partners, we will hold the perpetrators of elder fraud schemes accountable for their crimes. Our office reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant for fraudulent schemes and, if victimized, to contact law enforcement,” stated U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

Between September 2021 and September 2022, Department officials and law enforcement partners pursued about 260 cases involving over 600 offenders, including bringing new charges and progressing those previously charged. For example, the EDLA prosecuted the following Elder Fraud cases:

Claudua Antillon Zahuita, 38, and Sergio Leon Kuri, 40, both Mexican residents and citizens, received jail sentences on September 29, 2021, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud. Kuri earned 60 months, while Zahuita received 48 months. As part of the intricate operation, the conspirators made unsolicited phone calls to owners of resort timeshare properties in order to persuade them to pay fees linked with a fictitious sale of their property. The defendants misrepresented the existence of a buyer for their timeshare and asked the victims for money to effectuate the transaction. They encouraged timeshare owners to enter into contracts to sell their timeshares and pay for supposed “closing charges” via electronic wire transfers from US banks to Mexican banks. There were no interested buyers, no closings took place, and no timeshares were resold. The conspirators instead simply collected the advance fees. The victims in the United States were 40 and older, with a total estimated loss of at least $20,000,000; and

Karen Farrell Tigler of Harvey, Louisiana, pled guilty to Bank Fraud and Making and Subscribing False Tax Returns on May 11, 2022. According to court filings, Tigler worked as a banker for a local bank and used her position to steal $349, 556 from an elderly client’s account. Tigler faces a potential sentence of thirty (30) years in prison and/or a fine of $1,000,000.00, or the greater of twice the defendant’s gross gain or twice the offense’s gross loss to any person.

Acdane Campbell, 25, of Jamaica, was sentenced to ten months in prison on May 26, 2022, after pleading guilty to a one-count charge of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud. According to the documents, Campbell and others planned to collect money illegally beginning in or around August 2016 by falsely notifying elderly victims that they had won a lottery, sweepstakes, or car. The mysterious co-conspirators called the victims and promised them their profits if they paid taxes and fees first.

Some of the cases that comprise the announcement are charges, which are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

As part of the EDLA’s elder fraud campaign, it has performed community and industry outreach to raise awareness of the ever-present hazards of exploitative scams and the victimization they cause. This year, our office also took part in Elder Justice lectures at local Retirement Communities, which focused on identifying and preventing financial, physical, and emotional crimes against older populations.

The Department also emphasized three other initiatives: the expansion of the Transnational Elder Fraud Task Force, progress in reimbursing victims, and measures to combat grandparent scams.

As part of its ongoing efforts to protect older individuals and bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice, the Department announced the expansion of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, which will include 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices. The Strike Force’s expansion will aid in the coordination of the Department’s ongoing efforts to address the largest and most damaging fraud schemes that target or disproportionately affect older individuals.

The Department has alerted approximately 550,000 people that they may be eligible for remission payments in the last year. Consumers whose information was sold by one of three data businesses punished by the Department were notified, and they were later victims of “sweepstakes” or “astrology” solicitations that fraudulently promised prizes or tailored services in exchange for a charge. Over 150,000 of the victims received compensation totaling $52 million, and thousands more are eligible. Consumers who used Western Union to pay fraudsters committing person-in-need and job scams were also warned. The Department has identified and contacted over 300,000 consumers who may be eligible for remission in the last year.

More than 148,000 victims have received more than $366 million since March 2020 as a result of a 2017 criminal settlement with Western Union for the company’s intentional failure to operate an effective anti-money laundering policy and its aiding and abetting of wire fraud.

Over the last year, the Department has prosecuted perpetrators of “grandparent scams,” sometimes known as “person-in-need scams.” These scams often begin when a fraudster, who is frequently based overseas, approaches an elderly person and appears as a grandchild, another family member, or someone phoning on behalf of a family member. Callers are told that a family member is in danger and desperately needs money. A federal judge recently labeled such schemes as “heartbreakingly evil” when sentencing one of eight perpetrators of a grandparent scam prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The Department is collaborating with government partners and others to spread the word about these programs.

Consumer reporting of fraud and attempted fraud is vital to law enforcement operations to investigate and punish scams targeting older individuals. If you or someone you know is above the age of 60 and has been a victim of financial fraud, contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). The Office for Victims of Crime manages this Department of Justice Hotline, which is staffed by skilled professionals who provide tailored support to callers by analyzing the victim’s requirements and identifying next steps.

On a case-by-case basis, case managers will identify relevant reporting agencies, provide information to callers to aid them in reporting or connect them with agencies, and provide resources and recommendations. The hotline is open from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. [ET] seven days a week. There are options for English, Spanish, and other languages. More information regarding the Department’s activities in elder justice can be obtained on the Elder Justice website by following this link.

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