On August 12, 2025, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the indictment of 13 individuals connected to a “grandparent” scam that stole over $5 million from 400 elderly victims. How the scam worked was:
- The scammers transformed several residences into makeshift call centers, fully equipped with computers and telephone equipment and supervised by managers who provide payment and instructions.
- The openers would call their victims under the false personation of a grandson of theirs, falsely claiming they were incarcerated for DWI after crashing into another vehicle that ran a red light.
- The closers will then call the victim under the guise of a “public defender,” demanding that the victim withdraw money from their bank accounts and hand them off to “runners,” designated couriers/money mules who used rideshare services who would launder the money back to the Dominican Republic.
- The scammers may later demand more money from their victims on the grounds that there was a “mix-up” or that the crash resulted in the death of a pregnant woman’s baby, or even hire rideshare drivers to take their victims to the bank to withdraw their funds.’
- Castanos Garcia would use the stolen funds to upgrade his home and purchase luxury products, such as a boat.
The following scammers were identified in the indictment:
- Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia, the 33-year-old kingpin from the Dominican Republic.
- Joel Jose Cruz “Paflowe” Rodriguez, a 33-year-old manager from the Dominican Republic.
- Edward Jose Puello Garcia, a 44-year-old manager from the Dominican Republic.
- Joan Manuel Mathilda Leon, a 27-year-old runner and runner recruiter from the Bronx and the Dominican Republic.
- Ransel St. Arlin Tavarez Jimenez, a 26-year-old runner and runner recruiter from the Bronx that is still at large.
- Luis German Santos “Mambo Flow” Burgos, a 32-year-old call center affiliate from Dorchester, Massachusetts and the Dominican Republic.
- Gerardo Heriberto Nunez Nunez, a 41-year-old money launderer from the Dominican Republic who also operated a storefront where he exchanged US dollars for Dominican pesos.
- Joel Francisco Mathilda Leon, a 26-year-old runner from the Bronx that is still at large.
- Audry Joel Baez Santana, a 31-year-old runner from the Bronx
- Jose Osvaldo Polanco “Obbi” Batista, a 28-year-old runner from Winter Park, Florida that is still at large.
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- Charman Samael Silverio “Chammy” Balbuena, a 31-year-old runner from Defiance, Missouri
- Manuel Nicolas Rivera Cueto, a 25-year-old runner from Santa Clara, California.
- Jose Arony Fermin “Chiky” Vasquez, a 31-year-old runner from New Jersey that is still at large.
The scammers have been charged with the conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud (save for Nunez) and money laundering conspiracy, which when combined is punishable by up to 40 years in prison, 6 years supervised release and fines of up to $750,000