BOSTON — A Dominican national has been extradited to the United States for his alleged role in an elder fraud ring that victimized seniors across the country, including in Massachusetts, federal authorities said.
Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, 42, was extradited on Wednesday, following his August arrest in the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
Nuñez Nuñez appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday and was detained pending trial. A federal grand jury indicted Nuñez Nuñez in May 2024. He is charged with one count of money laundering conspiracy.
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In total, investigators identified over 400 victims with an average age of 84, including at least 50 in Massachusetts, and more than $5 million in losses, Foley said.
Nuñez Nuñez is accused of laundering money for a transnational “call center” operation in the Dominican Republic that defrauded hundreds of elderly victims in the United States, through “grandparent scams.”
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Prosecutors said English-speaking call center employees tricked hundreds of elderly victims in the United States into believing that their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money.
One employee would call victims and pretend to be a grandchild who was in an accident. Then, another employee would allegedly follow up with another call, pretending to be the grandchild’s attorney, asking for a sum of money to pay for the grandchild’s attorney’s fees. Callers would instruct elderly victims to provide cash to “runners” in the United States.
The indictment alleges that Nuñez Nuñez laundered illicit proceeds from the ring back to the Dominican Republic.
Prosecutors said he provided the call center operators with access to bank accounts in the names of purported businesses.
The runners would then deposit cash from victims into those bank accounts.
Prosecutors said Nuñez Nuñez also arranged for the runners to hand-deliver cash from victims to individuals in New York and elsewhere. He then provided cash to the call center operators in the Dominican Republic.
Nuñez allegedly charged the call center operators a fee of approximately 8 to 10 percent to transmit scam proceeds from the United States to the Dominican Republic.
Charges were unsealed in August against Nuñez Nuñez and 12 others who ran the call center or served as runners.
For the charge of money laundering conspiracy, Nuñez Nuñez faces 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.
Nuñez Nuñez is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed.
Anyone who believes they may be victims of this case or other elder fraud scams is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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