A Florida man has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $123,000 in restitution after pleading guilty late last year to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Reinaldo Miralles Gonzalez, 52, of Doral, Florida, was part of a fraud scheme that targeted mostly elderly users of a money transfer service.
Fraudsters would contact users of the service, identify themselves as FBI agents (using the names of real agents), and scare the users into believing that the FBI had identified them as financial supporters of terrorism.
In the news: “Should I Kill Them One By One” Florida Man Pleads Guilty To Threatening Election Workers
Threatening legal action, and in one case deportation, the fraudsters tricked the victims into mailing blank money orders to addresses associated with Gonzalez.
Some victims were repeatedly victimized and forced to take funds from retirement accounts to satisfy the demands.
This case was investigated by FBI Miami, as part of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lois Foster-Steers prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Signup for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.