Two Peruvians, Maria Luzula and Juan Alejandro Rodriguez Cuya, and two Miami-based corporations, Angeluz Florida Corporation and Angeluz Miami, LLC, have been charged with a conspiracy to defraud and extort Spanish-speaking consumers through fraudulent call centers in Peru.
According to the indictment, Luzula’s and Rodriguez Cuya’s employees in Peru made Internet-based telephone calls to Spanish-speaking victims in the U.S., lying to them about fines they owed and lawsuits that would be brought against the victims. The callers threatened the victims and falsely told each victim that he or she had wrongfully failed to receive a delivery of products. In reality, the victims had never ordered these products and no attempts to deliver products to the victims had been made.
The indictment alleges that the defendants’ 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 Jan. 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 Stuart F. 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. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Assistant Director Richard Goldberg with the Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch.
U.S. Attorney Wilfredo A. Ferrer said that consumer fraud that targets a specific population is ‘shameful.’ He added that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting consumers from fraud and stands united with the Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch, to fight consumer fraud.
U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Ronald Verrochio stated that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue those who threaten our citizens and defraud them of their hard-earned money.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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