‘Sense of fear.’ Man sentenced in scam targeting older victims in Kentucky, across U.S.

A New Mexico man has been sentenced in federal court in Kentucky for his role in a scam that targeted older people in Kentucky and across the country that resulted in millions in losses.

Robert Louis Sanchez, 57, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty to taking part in what is known as a grandparent scam, in which con artists prey on older people with fabricated stories about a grandchild being in trouble and needing money.

People involved in the conspiracy traveled to different places in the country and used information gleaned from unknown sources to identify elderly potential victims, according to the indictment.

Scammers would then call the victims pretending to be a family member, often a grandchild, and claim to need money because the “grandchild” had been in a car wreck or was in legal trouble, according to the indictment.

“Like other similar fraud schemes, this grandparent scam targets particularly vulnerable senior victims and utilizes particularly manipulative social engineering, causing victims to believe their loved ones are in peril,” the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne E. Keel, said in a sentencing memorandum. “Grandparent scams like this one create a sense of fear and urgency, effectively preying on victim panic to convince them to hand over thousands of dollars before they realize they’re being scammed.”

The con involved sending people to the homes of victims to collect money, which members of the conspiracy put in a bank or laundered through cryptocurrency exchanges.

The scam victimized hundreds of people across the U.S. who lost a total of more than $3 million , federal authorities said in a news release.

U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom sentenced Sanchez to 18 months in prison on June 28 in federal court in Louisville.

Sanchez acted as a courier to pick up money from victims and also guarded the money, according to federal authorities.

Charges are still pending against some people who allegedly took part in the conspiracy, but four others have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

They are:

Jairo Ostia Roberts, 44, who traveled from Panama to the U.S. to act as a courier. Roberts was sentenced to six months in prison and deported to Panama after serving the sentence

Panama Abel Diaz Adames, 39, another resident came from Panama to pick up money as part of the scheme. Diaz Adames was sentenced to one year and four months in prison.

Christopher Courcoulacos, 46, a Canadian citizen who helped run the scheme. Boom sentenced him to six years in prison.

Mark Anthony Phillips, 44, of Ruskin, Fla., was sentenced to six years in prison.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Secret Service with assistance from other agencies.

The Federal Communications Commission , the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other agencies have resources to help people avoid becoming victims of grandparent scams.