A grand jury in Miami, Florida, has indicted two individuals and two corporations for allegedly operating call centers in Peru that lied to and threatened Spanish-speaking victims into paying fraudulent settlements.
Maria Luzula, of Miami, and Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, of Lima, Peru, were charged with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud and extortion. Two Miami-based corporate entities, Angeluz Florida Corporation and Angeluz Miami, LLC, were charged with the same offenses.
“Consumer fraud that targets a specific population is shameful,” said U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer. “In this case, the defendants are alleged to have targeted Spanish-speaking consumers and falsely threatened them with arrest, deportation, forfeiture of property or harm to their credit scores when the consumers refused to settle claims for products that were not delivered or ordered. Such tactics are intolerable. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed and stands united with the Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch, to protect our consumers from fraud.”
The indictment alleges that Luzula’s and Rodriguez Cuya’s employees claimed that the consumers could resolve the fines if they immediately paid a “settlement fee.” Consumers who contested these settlement fees were told that failure to pay could lead to arrest, deportation, forfeiture of property or harm to their credit scores. Although consumers typically objected that they did not order or refuse delivery of any products, thousands still agreed to pay the fees due to these threats.
Luzula and Rodriguez Cuya originally were charged by criminal complaint and arrested on January 10, 2013. They have remained incarcerated since their arrests.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Assistant Attorney General Delery commended the Postal Inspection Service for their investigative efforts and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their contributions to the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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