A Peruvian national has been sentenced to 80 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution for his role in transnational fraud schemes targeting Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States.
Court documents state that David Cornejo Fernandez, 36, of Lima, Peru, facilitated fraudulent operations that stole millions from thousands of victims across the U.S. Cornejo provided internet-based telephone lines, caller-ID spoofing services, and recording capabilities to a network of call centers in Peru. These call centers used his services to defraud and extort Spanish-speaking victims by falsely threatening them with legal action if they did not pay for English-language products.
Cornejo was extradited from Peru in November 2024 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in July. In his plea, he admitted providing technology that allowed call centers to impersonate federal agents, police officers, attorneys, court personnel, and other officials. He also supplied caller-ID spoofing software so co-conspirators could convincingly pose as government representatives and threaten victims with legal or financial penalties if they refused payment. Pre-recorded messages were placed on phone lines to make victims believe they had reached real U.S. agencies or courts. When specific numbers were reported as fraudulent, Cornejo issued new ones so the scheme could continue.
The fraud caused losses exceeding $3 million among more than 8,800 victims nationwide.
With this sentencing by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a total of 13 defendants have now been convicted and sentenced for their roles in these schemes that targeted Spanish-speaking U.S. consumers by threatening legal consequences over unrequested English-language learning products. The group included eight Peruvian call center operators, four distribution center operators who processed payments within the U.S., and Cornejo himself.
"Cornejo and many of these defendants shared strategies on how to impersonate the U.S. government and defraud Spanish-speaking residents of the U.S."
Cornejo is the ninth defendant extradited from Peru for prosecution related to these scams involving English language learning products. Previous sentences ranged from 88 months to 110 months for other individuals involved between 2021 and 2024.
The investigation was led by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. Prosecutors included Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorney Carolyn Rice from the Consumer Protection Branch; Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda handled asset forfeiture matters.
Assistance came from several agencies including the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals Service, Peruvian National Prosecutor General’s Office, and Peruvian National Police.
"The Justice Department continues to investigate and bring charges in other similar matters involving threats against Spanish-speaking residents of the U.S."
The Department encourages anyone age 60 or older who has experienced financial fraud to contact its National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). The hotline provides support including assessing victim needs and connecting callers with appropriate reporting agencies; it operates Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m ET with services available in English, Spanish, and other languages.
Further information about elder justice initiatives can be found at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/. Additional resources on consumer protection are available at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/, while complaints may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
Court documents related to this case can be accessed via https://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-20055.
