A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, originally from the Dominican Republic, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh. The charges are related to the receipt of stolen money that crossed state borders, as announced by Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti.
The indictment includes five counts against Luis Alfonso Bisono Rodriguez, 34. He was previously charged on March 21, 2025, through a criminal complaint and was arrested last week in the Cleveland area.
According to the complaint affidavit, Rodriguez is linked to an organized crime group operating across Pennsylvania and Ohio. This group is accused of defrauding victims in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere out of tens of thousands of dollars through a grandparent fraud scam. In this scheme, scammers call grandparents impersonating their grandchildren in crisis situations like accidents or arrests and request immediate financial assistance. The stolen money was picked up in Pennsylvania and delivered by Lyft and Uber drivers to various locations in Northern Ohio. Surveillance videos captured Rodriguez meeting these drivers at retail establishments to receive the stolen funds. It is alleged that he then wired much of the proceeds to the Dominican Republic and deposited portions into bank accounts.
Between October 2024 and January 2025, at least five elderly individuals from Western Pennsylvania were reportedly defrauded out of more than $50,000. Investigations suggest there may be many more victims across Pennsylvania, Ohio, and other states. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) encourages anyone with information about this scam or who believes they might be a victim to report it through the Bureau’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting the case for the government.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI offices in Pittsburgh and Cleveland with support from the Parma Police Department in Northern Ohio and multiple police departments in Western Pennsylvania including Millcreek Township Police Department, Grove City Police Department, Scott Township Police Department, Fox Chapel Police Department, Finley Township Police Department, and Hermitage Police Department.
It is important to note that an indictment and a criminal complaint are merely accusations; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
