Hundreds Charged in National Senior Fraud Sweep

The U.S. Attorney's Office and other law enforcement agencies last week held the largest-ever sweep of senior fraud cases in the country, involving more than 1 million victims, reports Financial Advisor . The cases charge more than 250 people worldwide with schemes in which mostly senior victims lost more than $500 million. The cases include criminal, civil, and forfeiture actions throughout more than 50 federal districts, with 200 defendants brought up on criminal charges. Fraud schemes ranged from mass mailing, telemarketing, and investment frauds to individual cases of identity theft and theft by guardians. Some cases entailed transnational criminal organizations that defrauded hundreds of thousands, while others involved a single relative or fiduciary who exploited an individual. The sweep also encompassed 43 mass-mailing fraud operators and search warrants for 14 premises from Las Vegas to south Florida, and 20 warrants issued in Vancouver, British Columbia. "The defendants targeted ... vulnerable senior consumers both in the United States and abroad, using U.S. addresses and the U.S. mails to try to legitimize their fraudulent schemes," notes U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue. "They sold false promises of life-changing prizes that never came true."