Tara K. McGrath, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California
Fabrisio Arias has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for his involvement in an international scam that targeted elderly individuals with false promises of sweepstakes winnings. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta also ordered Arias to pay $395,536.05 in restitution to 22 victims.
Arias was part of a conspiracy from November 2020 to September 2022 that defrauded victims across the United States and laundered significant sums of money. The operation involved phone scammers who contacted victims using spoofed numbers, pretending to be representatives from the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Trade Commission. Victims were misled into believing they had won a prize but needed to pay fees or taxes to claim it.
The scammers instructed victims to send payments via cashier’s checks, blank money orders, or cash to Arias in Fontana, California. He then laundered these funds through his bank accounts and transferred most of them to co-conspirators in Costa Rica while disguising their origins.
Victims suffered severe financial losses due to this scheme, with some losing their life savings and others forced into financial hardship measures such as reverse mortgages or returning to work post-retirement.
U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath warned against such scams: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” She advised reporting suspicious calls immediately.
Brandon Knarr, Acting Special Agent in Charge, emphasized the seriousness of impersonating IRS employees and pledged thorough prosecution efforts against those responsible. Matt Shields from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service highlighted the collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies in combating fraud schemes like this one.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Swan prosecuted the case.
Authorities urge anyone who suspects they have been contacted by a scammer to report it promptly at IC3.gov for potential recovery actions. For non-emergency elder fraud issues, contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or visit www.justice.gov/elderjustice for more information.
