Latest news with #NationalElderFraudHotline
UPI
5 days ago
- UPI
U.S. Treasury Department targets timeshare fraud by Mexican cartel
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned four Mexican nationals and 12 companies in Mexico linked to a "brutally violent" cartel involved in a timeshare fraud of resorts in Puerto Vallarta. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization "that is increasingly supplementing its drug trafficking proceeds with alternative revenue streams such as timeshare fraud and fuel theft." Sanctions include blocking all U.S. property owned by the people and the companies named, and the assets must be reported to OFAC. Violations may include civil and criminal penalties. The agency is reminding current timeshare owners in Mexico: "If an unsolicited purchase or rental offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Those considering the purchase of a timeshare in Mexico should conduct appropriate due diligence." The FBI has a timeshare fraud resource page. Victims of timeshare fraud can file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Complaint Center. Elderly customers can contact the Department of Justice's National Elder Fraud Hotline. Timeshares are fractional ownership for a vacation property, often one week a year, that are not considered an investment and often are tough to resell. There are 56 timeshare developments in Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's Pacific coast, a popular tourist destination that includes beaches, nightlife and cultural attractions. There are 578,000 residents. "We are coming for terrorist drug cartels like Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion that are flooding our country with fentanyl," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said. "These cartels continue to create new ways to generate revenue to fuel their terrorist operations. At President Trump's direction, we will continue our effort to completely eradicate the cartels' ability to generate revenue, including their efforts to prey on elderly Americans through timeshare fraud." Approximately 6,000 U.S. victims reported losing nearly $300 million between 2019 and 2023 in timeshare fraud in Mexico, according to the FBI. In 2024, there were 900 complaints with reported losses of more than $50 million. Beginning in 2012, the Treasury Department said the cartel took control of timeshare fraud schemes in Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco and the surrounding area. "These complex scams often target older Americans who can lose their life savings," the release said. "The lifecycle of these scams can last years, resulting in financial and emotional devastation of the victims while enriching cartels like CJNG." After information on timeshare owners is received, call center personnel claim to be U.S.-based third-party brokers, attorneys or sales representatives. Fraud may include timeshare resale, re-rent and investment scams. People are asked to pay advance "fees" and "taxes" via international wire transfers to accounts at Mexican banks and brokerage houses before receiving money supposedly owed to them, the Treasury Department said. The money never comes to the consumers and they are told to pay more "fees" and "taxes." Then they may be further victimized when impersonated law firms claim they can initiate proceedings to recover lost funds. Sometimes, government officials are impersonated, claiming the victims have been involved in suspicious transactions with more "fees" required to release the funds or risk prison time. The Treasury Department said it had blocked all property and interests in property of the persons named, or in possession or control of U.S. people. This also applies to entities owned at least 50% by one of more blocked people. In addition, Americans are not allowed to be involved in the property of people blocked. And secondary penalties may be imposed on participating foreign financial institutions. The Treasury Department listed three senior cartel members most involved in the fraud, who "orchestrate assassinations of rivals and politicians using high-powered weaponry." They are Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (Montero), Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (Rivera), and Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (Gudino). Five companies "explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry" are Akali Realtors, Centro Mediador De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Integral De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Costa Norte, S.A. de C.V. and Sunmex Travel, S. de R.L. De C.V. They "explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry." Other companies were involved involved in timeshare-related transactions or involvement in real estate activities.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Miami Herald
Man steals ownership of 78-year-old's yacht, leaves him homeless in CA, feds say
A Hawaii man offered to help a California resident sell his 44-foot yacht docked in Newport Beach — but secretly took ownership of the vessel and kept the proceeds of the sale, according to federal court filings. Then, John Tamahere McCabe scammed the 78-year-old out of the deed to his million-dollar Orange County condo, federal prosecutors said. The man's wife had just died and 'he had no family support' by the time McCabe defrauded him out of about $1,814,000 — leaving him homeless, court documents say. The scheme to steal the man's assets began in July 2017 and lasted until January 2024, court records show. In December 2024, a federal grand jury charged McCabe with wire fraud. Now, McCabe, 42, of Kailua, Hawaii, has pleaded guilty to the charge, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a May 2 news release. His defense attorneys, Eliot F. Krieger and Scott Arthur Simmons, didn't immediately return McClatchy News' request for comment May 5. McCabe lived in Maui but frequented Orange County, California, when he defrauded the man of his Irvine condo, court documents say. The man was only identified as 'J.L.' in filings. McCabe made 'false promises of brokering the sale' of the man's 2017 Tiara yacht, which cost more than $1 million, according to prosecutors. While pretending to help the man, McCabe used fake documents to transfer the vessel's ownership to himself, prosecutors said. With the yacht in McCabe's name, McCabe sold it and used most of the profits 'for his own personal purposes,' prosecutors wrote in court documents. Then, at some point afterward, McCabe, 'appearing to act in the best interest of (the man), convinced (him) to transfer' his condo into an LLC McCabe controlled, court documents say. McCabe claimed that 'it would protect (the man's) most valuable asset and provide tax benefits,' prosecutors said. But McCabe remained as the only manager of the LLC and drained the man's home of its equity by taking out $1 million in loans, according to prosecutors. The proceeds were spent by McCabe and were secured by the man's condo, prosecutors said. '(McCabe) defaulted on the loans,' then the man's condo was auctioned off at a foreclosure sale, prosecutors wrote in court documents. After the man became homeless, prosecutors said the FBI and the Irvine Police Department investigated McCabe. McCabe now faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. His sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 16. The U.S. Attorney's Office encourages individuals 60 or older who've been affected by financial fraud to seek help by calling the Justice Department's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Nigerian national sentenced to 97 months in prison for U.S. elder fraud
April 28 (UPI) -- A Nigerian national has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for an international fraud scheme that bilked hundreds of elderly U.S. victims out of millions of dollars, the Justice Department announced Monday. Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata, 36, and a group of co-conspirators, sent letters to elderly U.S. citizens, falsely claiming that he was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the victims had inherited a multimillion-dollar estate from a long-lost family member, according to court documents. In order to receive their money, the victims were told to send funds for delivery fees, taxes and other payments. Ogbata admitted to defrauding more than $6 million from more than 400 U.S. victims. He pleaded guilty for his role in the transnational inheritance fraud scheme and was sentenced Friday to 97 months in prison. "The long arm of the American justice system has no limits when it comes to reaching fraudsters who prey on our nation's must vulnerable populations, to include the elderly," said U.S. Attorney Hayden Byrne for the Southern District of Florida. "We will not allow transnational criminals to steal money from the public we serve. Individuals who defraud American consumers will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located," Byrne added. In announcing Ogbata's sentencing, the Justice Department reminded seniors over the age of 60 to report financial fraud to the department's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11. "It's inconceivable to imagine any human being robbing from those who've spent a lifetime working and building a life, and then are duped out of it all," Special Agent in Charge Francisco Burrola of Homeland Security Investigations Arizona said in a statement. "Together, with our law enforcement partners, we will not tolerate this kind of behavior. We will bring justice to those who have wronged and stolen from so many people."
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
Las Vegas woman pleads guilty in prize scam involving millions
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman pleaded guilty Monday to producing mailings as part of a scheme that defrauded thousands of Americans, many of them elderly, prosecutors said. Barbara Trickle, 80, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, documents said. In 2023, federal prosecutors accused Trickle and two others of mailing millions of phony prize notices from 2012 to 2018. The mailer indicated that the person would receive a large cash prize if they paid a fee between $20 and $50, documents said. '[Trickle] was the owner and operator of a printing and mailing business that produced the fraudulent prize notice mailings for the scheme,' documents said. 'Trickle supervised the lasering, printing, and mailing of the fraudulent prize notices. She also directed her employees to analyze victim response data in furtherance of the scheme. Trickle was paid by her co-conspirators for these services.' The loss to victims totaled about $15.5 million, prosecutors said, adding many were 'elderly and vulnerable.' It was not immediately clear how much prison time, if any, Trickle would face at sentencing. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a minimum fine of $250,000, prosecutors said in 2023. The government runs a National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Yahoo
California man sentenced to prison for role in international sweepstakes scam
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A California man, 46-year-old Fabrisio Arias, was sentenced Friday to 41 months in federal prison for his involvement in a widespread international fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims across the United States, the Department of Justice announced in a press release. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, who also ordered Arias to pay restitution of $395,536.05 to 22 victims who fell prey to the scam. Arias, who resided in the city of Fontana, was part of a larger conspiracy that defrauded seniors by tricking them into believing they had won a sweepstakes prize. Victims were told they needed to pay a fee or tax before they could claim their purported winnings. Between November 2020 and September 2022, Arias helped launder the ill-gotten proceeds by receiving funds at his home and moving them through U.S.-based bank accounts. Cities in California with the most living in poverty According to the plea agreement, Arias worked closely with co-conspirators operating out of Costa Rica. The scammers, who used spoofed phone numbers to disguise their identities, contacted victims across the country. They posed as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Trade Commission and convinced the elderly victims to send money to Arias to cover the fictitious taxes or fees. Arias would then deposit the fraudulent payments into his accounts, often using false names and other deceptive methods to conceal the true source of the money. He transferred the funds to his co-conspirators in Costa Rica and kept a substantial portion of the proceeds for himself. The victims — many of whom were in their 70s, 80s, or 90s — suffered significant financial losses, the press released noted. Some had to resort to reverse mortgages, tap into college savings or return to work after retirement to make ends meet. One victim lost their entire 401(k) retirement account, while others lost their life savings. Arias received more than $395,000 from the scam over nearly two years. More than $237,000 of that amount was sent to his co-conspirators, while Arias personally kept $157,000. 'If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,' said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath of this scam. 'These schemes can be difficult to identify and very appealing – when in doubt, hang up the phone and report suspicious callers to law enforcement.' Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Knarr added, ''Victimizing taxpayers by impersonating IRS employees is a serious crime,.' The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative, which work together to combat fraud schemes targeting the elderly. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Swan. Anyone who believes they have been targeted by a similar scam is encouraged to report it to the FBI at or call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD11. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
