PROVIDENCE, RI – United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced that Roberto Munoz, 29, of Hialeah, FL, and Jason Rhodes, 34, of Flushing, NY, have been charged in federal court for their alleged involvement as couriers in grandparent scams that targeted seniors across several states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The duo was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft following their arrest by Warwick Police on March 8. This came after detectives received three complaints within a week from local residents about scammers targeting them.
Authorities reported that one set of victims, believing they were aiding their grandson, had already sent $18,000 to a courier for what they were told was bail. They were later contacted again, informed that their grandchild was being sued for $100,000, and told to pay an additional $40,000 immediately.
Realizing it was a scam, the grandparents contacted Warwick Police, who established surveillance at their home in anticipation of the courier’s return. Rhodes was apprehended at the residence when he arrived to collect the money, while Munoz was arrested in a car nearby, waiting for Rhodes.
Police seized over $60,000 in cash and other items from a hotel room and the vehicle. Further investigation by Warwick Police and Homeland Security Investigations revealed that Munoz and Rhodes had allegedly received the names and addresses of grandparent scam victims across multiple locations, including Coventry, Newport, Cranston, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, East Greenwich, and Smithfield in Rhode Island, as well as Braintree, Hanover, Plymouth, Scituate, Cohasset, Stoughton, and Lakeville in Massachusetts.
Additionally, a device taken from Rhodes during his arrest contained chat messages from Munoz, which reportedly included names and addresses of targeted victims and their grandchildren across states such as Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, North Carolina, and New Jersey.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities believe numerous families in Rhode Island and Massachusetts may have fallen victim to this scam.
