Federal agents call it the “grandparent scam,” and it works like this:
A fake lawyer calls an elderly person, saying a grandchild is in jail and needs money for bail right away.
The grandparent panics, withdraws the money for a bail bondsman and hands it over to a courier who shows up at the house.
The courier and bondsman are just as fake as the lawyer. They collect the money and disappear with it, moving on to another mark in another city.
But score one for the law this time.
One of these criminal operations lost two of its members Friday when they admitted in federal court in Pittsburgh to stealing between $250,000 and $550,000 from old people in Pittsburgh, Georgia and Tennessee.
Hector Enrique Escorihuela Gil and Yhonlester Wuiler Manuel Da Silva Quintero, both arrested in September in Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and face federal prison.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, they both told U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan they were guilty of what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they did as part of a team of scammers originating outside the U.S.
Gil and Quintero were both based in the U.S. and were responsible for collecting money from the elderly. Quintero acted as a courier in traveling to homes in Pittsburgh and elsewhere, and turned over the money to Gil for distribution to other members of the gang.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Bengel said Homeland Security Investigations began looking into the scam in September 2021, when elderly people began receiving calls from abroad using Canadian area codes. Typically the caller said he was a lawyer and that a grandchild was in jail and needed cash for bail and other legal fees.
The bogus lawyer said there was a “gag order” on the purported case and warned against talking about it with anyone. He told the grandparent to go to the bank, withdraw money for bail and lie to the tellers if asked about the reason for the cash withdrawal.
If the thieves were successful in getting money out of someone, they would often call back and say they needed more money for additional legal fees and the like.
Bengel said the fraudsters pulled a version of this rip-off repeatedly in February and March of this year in Western Pennsylvania, Georgia and Tennessee.
Gil was identified when authorities arrested several of his associates in Georgia, searched their phones and found his number. Tracking his cell info, agents determined he had been in all of the areas where elderly people had given money to couriers. For example, they discovered he had flown to Pittsburgh on Feb. 13 and rented a car at Pittsburgh International Airport the day before an elderly victim here gave money to a courier.
Gil and Quintero were indicted in Pittsburgh under seal in September and arrested that month in the Miami area.
HSI agents have identified 10 elderly victims in all.
Torsten covers the courts for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Reach him at jtorsteno@gmail.com.
