Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, Money Laundering, Massachusetts 2024

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Grimy Times Exclusive: Elderly Victims Fall Prey to Sophisticated Scam

Boston, MA – In a shocking case of elder fraud, a Dominican national has been extradited to the United States for his alleged role in a transnational ‘call center’ operation that tricked hundreds of elderly victims into believing their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money.

According to charging documents, Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, 42, served as a money launderer for the sophisticated operation in the Dominican Republic. English-speaking employees of the call center carried out what are commonly known as ‘grandparent scams,’ where they tricked elderly victims into providing cash to ‘runners’ in the United States.

As alleged in the indictment, Nuñez Nuñez laundered illicit proceeds from the operation back to the Dominican Republic. He provided the call center operators with access to bank accounts in the names of purported businesses, and the runners would then deposit cash from victims into those bank accounts.

The scam operated like this: one employee would call victims and pretend to be a grandchild who was in an accident, and then another employee would follow up with another call, pretending to be the grandchild’s attorney, asking for a sum of money to pay for the grandchild’s attorney’s fees. The runners would instruct elderly victims to provide cash to ‘runners’ in the United States.

Over 400 victims were identified in the investigation, with an average age of 84, including at least 50 in Massachusetts, resulting in more than $5 million in losses. Nuñez Nuñez was arrested in August 2025 in the Dominican Republic at the request of the United States and extradited on March 18, 2026. He appeared in federal court in Boston today and was detained pending trial.

The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of laundered funds, whichever is greater. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.

Members of the public who believe they may be victims of this case, or other elder fraud scams, should contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Suspected fraud can also be reported on the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center.

The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition to the United States of Nuñez Nuñez.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.