U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko | U.S. Department of Justice
Combatting elder fraud remains a significant focus for the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) in the Northern District of Ohio. The office is tasked with prosecuting federal law violations across 40 northern counties in Ohio.
The USAO's White Collar Crimes Unit implements the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiatives, targeting elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and scams aimed at senior citizens. These schemes vary from identity theft to large-scale mail fraud operations that defraud seniors of billions annually.
“Many fraud crimes that target our elderly population involve criminals taking advantage of this group’s trusting nature. Fraudsters falsely claim to be government officials or promise to help with computer issues, persuading victims to provide fraudsters with access to their personal information,” stated U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Our office prioritizes prosecuting those who prey on the elderly members of our communities in an attempt to steal their savings.”
Several notable cases were prosecuted in 2024:
In U.S. v. Alahmad, a caregiver forged documents to obtain credit cards in an elderly victim's name while they were in a nursing home rehabilitation facility. Alahmad received a 30-month prison sentence and was ordered to pay $46,064.30 in restitution.
U.S. v. Xie involved a Chinese national student acting as a "money mule," transferring funds from older victims across the country to his handler. Xie was sentenced to 16 months and required to pay $188,000 in restitution.
In U.S. v. Wehman, the defendant committed wire fraud against his grandfather using various credit lines and was sentenced to 37 months with $376,069.46 restitution ordered.
U.S. v. Turnipseede saw approximately 72 investors defrauded out of over $8.5 million through a Ponzi scheme promising high returns via sports wagering businesses; sentencing is scheduled for March 3, 2025.
U.S. v. Alexander featured a cold-calling scheme targeting older investors with promises of high returns on wine and whiskey investments; Alexander received three years probation and must pay $202,195.58 restitution.
Defendants in U.S. v Mangukia posed as customer service representatives convincing victims their accounts were compromised; they directed victims into converting cash into cryptocurrency or gold bars which they then collected.
Similarly charged defendants in U.S.v Chaudhary posed as bank employees directing victims towards withdrawing cash for collection by conspirators.
Lastly, U.S.v Kai involved soliciting cryptocurrency investments through social media under false pretenses leading victims into cash-only transactions identified during one such instance involving Kai himself.
Beyond prosecution efforts staff engaged communities through educational outreach programs like “Courier and Grandparent Scams” during National Consumer Protection Week meetings among others at various locations including St Mary Of The Woods Senior Living Community FBI Organized Crime Conference Parma Snow Branch Library AARP Podcast interviews highlighting awareness around elder scam tactics prevalent today
For reporting crimes related visit https://tips.fbi.gov/home or https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/financial-exploitation .
