A California man has pleaded guilty to conspiring with Peruvian-based call-centers that defrauded Spanish-speaking US residents by falsely threatening them with arrest, deportation and other legal consequences.
Luis Rendon, 60, of Harbor City, California, operated a distribution center that helped the call center operators execute their fraud scheme from Peru.
With Rendon’s guilty plea, eleven defendants have now pleaded guilty in connection with a $15 million trans-national fraud scheme aimed at defrauding Spanish-speaking residents of the United States by fraudulently threatening them with legal consequences if they did not pay for English-language learning products they never requested or pay bogus settlement fees.
More than 30,000 Spanish-speaking residents of the United States were defrauded.
In total, the eleven defendants include seven Peruvian call center owner-operators and four distribution center operators who processed payments and facilitated the fraud in the United States.
Rendon, like the other defendants who pleaded guilty before him in this investigation, admitted that the call centers and their employees falsely claimed to be lawyers, court officials, federal agents, and representatives of a so-called “minor crimes court,” which does not exist.
The callers falsely threatened victims with court proceedings, negative marks on their credit reports, imprisonment, and immigration consequences if they did not immediately pay for English language courses or bogus settlement fees.
Rendon owned and operated International Latin Market (ILM), a California-based distribution center that facilitated the large-scale telemarketing fraud and extortion scheme from 2011 until late 2017.
Rendon aided and abetted the scheme by providing lists of prospective victims to the call centers in Peru, processing card payments from victims, and sending low-quality computer tablets pre-loaded with English language courses to victims in the Miami area and across the United States.
Rendon’s guilty plea demonstrates that the US government will vigorously pursue and prosecute transnational criminals who defraud vulnerable US consumers.
Seven of the defendants were extradited from Peru and pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and received significant prison sentences.
U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. sentenced Henrry Milla, Carlos Espinoza, Jerson Renteria, Fernan Huerta, Omar Cuzcano, Evelyng Milla, and Josmell Espinoza to sentences ranging from 88 months to 110 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.
Related Federal Cases
- Jeffrey Silhanek, Mail Fraud, California 2023 · North Carolina
- Silicon Valley Tech Mogul, Robert James Pincus, Securities Fraud, California 2022 · Connecticut
- Darren Carlyle Sadler, Wire Fraud, California 2024 · California
- P.M., Wire Fraud Conspiracy, California 2024 · Connecticut
- Juan Carlos Hernandez, Visa Fraud, California 2023 · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime