Six individuals have been charged with stealing nearly $250,000 from Florida seniors through a deceptive grandparent scam, according to the Florida Attorney General (AG). The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution reported that the scam impacted elderly victims across multiple counties, including Palm Beach, Brevard, Broward, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Sarasota.
The investigation was conducted by the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Vice Intelligence Squad, which found that the accused—Jairo Izquierdo, Gennesis Castro, Wendy Angelina Ortiz, Ada Tido, Wandy Castro, and Olfa Cornielle—targeted South Florida seniors, posing as lawyers or legal representatives of their grandchildren. They falsely claimed that the victims’ grandchildren had been arrested for hitting a pregnant woman with a vehicle and needed bail money.
Victims were coerced into sending cash payments, which they were instructed to place in a box for pick-up by a courier. Unbeknownst to them, these couriers were ride-share drivers who had been booked by the fraudsters. “Criminals don’t care who they use,” said Vince Lisi, Senior Director of Global Security and Investigations for Uber, highlighting the tactics employed by the scammers.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that the scammers repeatedly contacted the same victims, pressuring them for additional payments. In one case, a victim in Palm Bay initially sent $9,000 but was later told that the pregnant woman had miscarried, leading to demands for an additional $18,000 due to upgraded charges. The total amount extracted from this victim reached over $54,000. A similar situation occurred with a victim in Melbourne, who lost $53,000 to the same group.
“These fraudsters know that most grandparents would do anything to help a grandchild in need, and through a convincing imposter scheme, they used fear and family to extort Florida seniors,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “With the collaboration of law enforcement, we were able to shut down this far-reaching scheme.”
The six defendants face multiple first-degree felonies, including organized schemes to defraud, grand theft, and criminal use of personal identification. While no victims have been reported from the Treasure Coast, local law enforcement officials note they handle similar cases regularly.
The latest data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) indicates that losses reported by individuals over 60 surpassed $3.4 billion, reflecting an 11% increase from 2022.
The investigation involved collaboration among various law enforcement agencies, including the West Palm Beach Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, and the FBI. Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie V. Daniels commended the exceptional teamwork in addressing fraud against the elderly.