Evangelos Lohaitis, Multimillion-Dollar Grandparent Scam, Vermont 2025

BURLINGTON – In a stunning crackdown on a nationwide Grandparent Scam, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on November 18, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging seven Canadian nationals with participation in a multimillion-dollar scam.

The defendants, who were arrested in Canada on May 7, 2026, include Evangelos Lohaitis, 36, a.k.a. 'Bucky,' of Saint-Eustache, Québec; Mitchell Burnett-Guarna, 39, a.k.a. 'Juice,' of Dorval, Québec; Kyle Lesser, 34, a.k.a. 'Brock,' of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, Québec; Luca Santalucia, 27, a.k.a. 'Rocco,' of Montreal, Québec; Glen Crossley, 56, a.k.a. 'Buju,' of Kirkland, Québec; Cody Jodouin-King, 28, a.k.a. 'Lids,' of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec; and Panagiota Fountotos, 29, a.k.a. 'Nike,' of Laval, Québec.

According to the indictment, which was unsealed on May 7, 2026, between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, the defendants engaged in a Grandparent Scam involving phone calls made from call centers in and around Montreal, Québec. During these phone calls, defendants falsely claimed to be an elderly victim's relative, typically a grandchild, who had been arrested following a car crash and needed money for 'bail.'

The indictment alleges that the defendants posed as an 'attorney' representing the elderly victim's relative and convinced the victims to provide bail money to an individual falsely posing as a bail bondsman. This money was later transmitted to Canada following cash deliveries and financial transactions, sometimes involving cryptocurrency.

The United States Attorney's Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The defendants face up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted.

The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-vt/pr/seven-additional-canadian-nationals-charged-connection-nationwide-multimillion-dollar