Ryan Young, Elder Fraud, New Jersey 2022

Ryan Young, 40, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

According to court documents, Young operated a mail fraud scheme in which he mailed out letters falsely notifying recipients that they were entitled to receive unclaimed funds worth millions of dollars, a portion of a multi-million-dollar legal settlement, or a prize, in exchange for payment of a small fee of $30 to $40.

The solicitation letters stated that they were sent by an organization tasked with providing notice and facilitating delivery of the funds or prize. Young did not deliver funds to any of the victims who sent payments in response to these letters.

Instead, Young sent a booklet providing publicly available information regarding government Unclaimed Property Divisions in various states; a booklet providing publicly available information regarding a few class action settlements; or a flyer regarding online restaurant coupons.

According to court documents, Young fraudulently obtained more than $1.6 million from victims of the scheme between March 2019 and May 2022.

The court documents further allege that Young operated this scheme while he was on pretrial release awaiting sentencing in a separate criminal case, in which he was charged with operating a similar fraud scheme.

Young will be sentenced on July 19 before U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack in Central Islip, New York. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton stated, “The defendant in this case operated multiple fraud schemes, collectively depriving vulnerable Americans out of more than $50 million.”

Inspector in Charge Chris Nielsen of United States Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia Division added, “Mass marketing scams frequently target elderly or vulnerable citizens. Fraudsters may think they can anonymously siphon money from their victims but today’s guilty plea tells a different story.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/new-jersey-man-pleads-guilty-mass-mailing-elder-fraud-scheme