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Defendant Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Role in Grandparent Scheme
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Matthew Ramos-Soto, 27, Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a wire fraud scheme targeting elderly victims.
Ramos-Soto pled guilty to the charge on April 4, 2024. He was also ordered to pay restitution.
The scheme, which was part of a larger network of individuals perpetrating grandparent scams across the United States, involved coconspirators operating outside the country calling elderly victims posing as a relative or relative’s attorney. Victims were told that their relative had been arrested for causing an accident that severely injured or killed another person.
Victims were asked to provide bail money in cash so their relative could be released immediately. Once victims obtained the funds, a courier posing as a bail bondsman picked up the funds from the victims’ residences. Ramos-Soto was one of the couriers posing as a bail bondsman.
Between October 24, 2022, and October 28, 2022, Ramos-Soto and the other couriers picked up more than $250,000 from victims throughout Wisconsin. Law enforcement was able to identify Ramos-Soto and he was ultimately arrested attempting to pick up money from a victim in Ottawa County, Michigan, on June 28, 2023.
A subsequent search of Ramos-Soto’s cellphone data showed that from October 11, 2022, through his arrest on June 28, 2023, he picked up money from victims in 18 different locations around the United States.
Attorney General Josh Kaul stated, “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to combating scams and holding perpetrators accountable. Thank you to the law enforcement officers from a number of different agencies who assisted with this investigation.”
The charge against Ramos-Soto was the result of an investigation led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, following a Statewide Crime Alert by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office that connected several investigations across Wisconsin.
Residents can report suspected fraud to the U.S. Justice Department’s National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), or to their local police department or the Wisconsin Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-833-586-0107.
Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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