Lorraine Chalavoutis, Elder Financial Exploitation, New York 2016

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Elderly Woman Scammed Millions from Grandma and Gramps

A Long Island woman has pleaded guilty to her role in a multimillion-dollar elder fraud scheme that targeted thousands of vulnerable seniors with fake prize notices.

Lorraine Chalavoutis, 64, of Greenlawn, New York, admitted to conspiring to mail over 30 million dollars in fake prize notifications between December 2010 and July 2016. The scam tricked victims into paying a modest fee in exchange for a large cash prize that never materialized.

Chalavoutis and her co-conspirators Shaun Sullivan and Tully Lovisa used shell companies and straw owners to hide their involvement in the scam. Lovisa and Sullivan have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and are awaiting sentencing.

‘Those who knowingly facilitate fraud schemes, including individuals who play administrative roles in setting up and maintaining the criminal operations, bear responsibility for the harm caused to victims,’ said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton. ‘The government is committed to protecting elderly and vulnerable Americans and to prosecuting individuals who perpetrate and knowingly enable such schemes.’

Chalavoutis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 18, 2022. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Daniel Zytnick and Timothy Finley of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles P. Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

‘With today’s plea, Chalavoutis has admitted her role in a nefarious and fraudulent scheme to enrich herself by tricking elderly and vulnerable victims into believing they had won a cash prize that they could collect after paying her modest fees,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis. ‘Protecting the community from those who commit fraud to deliberately prey on the false hopes of the vulnerable remains a priority of this office and the government.’

Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, New York Division, added, ‘Today’s plea is an example of the coordinated efforts of law enforcement to bring those to justice who prey on vulnerable adults through the distribution of bogus solicitations, luring the unsuspecting ‘prize winner’ to send money in an effort to steal not only their money, but in many cases their independence.’