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25 Canadians charged in multimillion-dollar American 'grandparent scam'

The Brief A federal grand jury charged 25 Canadian nationals with running a "grandparent scam" targeting elderly victims across 46 U.S. states and defrauding them of over $21 million. The scam involved fraudulent calls from Montréal-based call centers, where suspects impersonated relatives or lawyers to convince the victims to send money for fake bail. On June 4, 2024, Canadian law enforcement said they executed search warrants at the call centers, catching many of the suspects in the act. The indictment names several individuals, including Gareth West and Jimmy Ylimaki, who remain at large, while the rest have been arrested in Canada. The accused face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Dozens of Canadians are facing charges for scamming millions of dollars out of elders in the U.S., according to the office of the acting state attorney for Vermont. The victims span from almost every state in the country. The backstory On Feb. 20, a federal grand jury charged 25 Canadian nationals with participating in a "grandparent scam" between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024. According to the unsealed indictment, those individuals made fraudulent calls from call centers in and around Montréal. During those calls, the suspects claimed to be related to the elderly victims, usually claiming to be a grandchild. They would say they had been arrested after a car crash and desperately needed money to post bail. Some of the suspects would pretend to be a lawyer representing a loved one. They would tell the victim there was a "gag order" that prevented the victim from telling anyone about the supposed arrest. In most cases, the elderly victims were convinced to send money to a fake bail bondsman. On June 4, 2024, Canadian law enforcement executed search warrants at several call centers. That's how they said they caught many of the defendants in the act of making calls to victims in Virginia. In total, victims were targeted in 46 states for more than $21 million. 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 indictment alleges the call centers were managed by West, Khalid, Tatto, Moskwyn, and Ricky Ylimaki, and also charges these five defendants with conspiring to commit money laundering. The conspiracy defrauded elderly Americans out of more than $21 million. What we know Michael P. Drescher, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, named the individuals accused of scamming elders across most of the U.S.: Gareth West, also known as Buddy and Muscles, 38, of Burlington, Ontario Usman Khalid, also known as Paul and Pauly, 36, of Les Coteaux, Québec Andrew Tatto, also known as Chevy and Truck, 43, of Pierrefonds, Québec Stephan Moskwyn, also known as HK, 42, of Pierrefonds Ricky Ylimaki, also known as Ruffles, 31, of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, Québec Richard Frischman, also known as Styx, 31, of Montréal Adam Lawrence, also known as Carter, 41, of Lasalle, Québec Michael Filion, also known as Elvis, 45, of Pierrefonds Jimmy Ylimaki, also known as Coop, 35, of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot Nicolas Gonzalez, also known as Brady, 27, of Kirkland, Québec Ryan Melanson, also known as Parker, 27, of Montréal Joy Kalafatidis, also known as Blondie, 31, of Pointe-Claire, Québec David Arcobelli, also known as Phil, 36, of Pierrefonds Jonathan Massouras, also known as Borze, 35, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec Nicholas Shiomi, also known as Keanu, 42, of Montréal Antonio Iannacci, also known as DJ 33, of Pierrefonds Jonathan Ouellet, also known as Sunny, 29, of Saint-Eustache, Québec Kassey-Lee Lankford, also known as Lex, 28, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec Sara Burns, also known as Ginger 31, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux Justin Polenz, also known as Happy, 34, of Montréal Ryan Thibert, also known as Toast, 37, of Vaudreuil-Dorion Michael Farella, also known as Honda, 29, of Sainte-Geneviève, Québec Sebastian Guenole, also known as Tweeter, 30, of Pierrefonds Ryan Bridgman, also known as Clint, 37, of Deux-Montagnes, Québec Stephanie-Marie Samaras, also known as North, 29, of Laval, Québec What's next All but two of the accused were arrested in Canada on Tuesday. Gareth West and Jimmy Ylimaki are still on the run. The Source This information was provided by Michael P. Drescher, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont.