Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia, Transnational Elder Fraud, Massachusetts 2024

Grimy Times Exclusive: Thirteen individuals have been charged in connection with a transnational elder fraud scheme that targeted hundreds of elderly victims in the US, with over $5 million in losses.

BOSTON – Thirteen individuals have been charged in connection with a transnational elder fraud scheme that allegedly involved a “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic. The scheme tricked hundreds of elderly victims in the US into believing that their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money.

The investigation identified over 400 victims with an average age of 84, including at least 50 in Massachusetts, and more than $5 million in losses. According to the charging documents, the defendants, led by defendant Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia, ran a sophisticated “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic.

Castanos Garcia allegedly oversaw call centers in the Dominican Republic, where he employed co-conspirators who spoke English and carried out what are commonly known as “grandparent scams.” These scams would begin with an “Opener” employee, who would call victims and pretend to be a grandson or granddaughter who was in an accident. Then, a “Closer” would allegedly follow up with another call, pretending to be their grandchild’s attorney, asking for a sum of money to pay for their grandchild’s fees due to the accident.

As alleged in the indictment, callers for Castanos Garcia’s call centers would instruct elderly victims to provide cash to “runners” in the US. Most often, the callers would instruct victims to give the packages with cash to rideshare drivers who were ordered to the victim’s house by a runner. The runners would then have the unsuspecting rideshare drivers deliver the packages to the runners at nearby locations.

The charge of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the loss to the victim. 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.

Members of the public who believe they may be victims of this case, or other elder fraud scams, are urged to 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.

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