CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) — A Cleveland man, Luis Alfonso Bisono Rodriguez, 34, has been indicted for orchestrating a multi-state scam targeting elderly victims by pretending to be their relatives in distress — a scheme known as the “Grandparent Scam.”
According to investigators, Rodriguez was part of a larger organized crime group that scammed seniors out of tens of thousands of dollars across Pennsylvania. He allegedly called elderly individuals on their landlines, posed as a family member in urgent need, and requested large sums of money.
Authorities say Rodriguez used Uber and Lyft drivers, who were unaware of the scheme, to pick up cash packages from victims and deliver them to convenience stores throughout the Cleveland area.
Rodriguez was arrested in March 2025 and indicted on five counts, including receiving and transporting stolen money. Surveillance footage from a Sheetz gas station on Fulton Road shows a Lyft driver handing Rodriguez a package of cash on October 25, 2024. He was reportedly seen wearing a maroon hoodie, sweatpants, and white sneakers, placing the package into his hoodie pocket.
One elderly couple from Grove City, Pennsylvania, reported receiving a call from someone claiming to be their son, “David,” on November 20, 2024. Believing he had been arrested after a car accident, they withdrew $9,000 and had it delivered via an Uber driver to a Sheetz in Cleveland, where Rodriguez was waiting.
Another victim, a 90-year-old woman, lost $20,000 in a similar scam two months later. Her money was also dropped off at a Sheetz location, this time in Parma, Ohio.
The FBI says Rodriguez conducted multiple wire transfers via Western Union at a Walmart in Cleveland, sending thousands of dollars to the Dominican Republic, his home country. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed his U.S. stay expired in March 2022.
