A Canadian citizen, Stefano Zanetti, was sentenced on May 4 to 188 months in prison and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine and $780,870 in restitution after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney Troy Rivetti on May 5.
The case highlights the ongoing threat posed by international fraud schemes targeting elderly individuals. Authorities said that the defendants exploited seniors' concern for their families through false claims about legal emergencies involving grandchildren.
Rivetti said, “Zanetti and his co-conspirators inflicted severe financial and emotional injury upon numerous elderly victims and their families through this scheme. This prosecution and the sentence imposed confirm that the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will use all of the resources at our disposal to investigate, identify, and bring to justice those who prey upon vulnerable members of our community, whether these predators are located in the United States or abroad.”
According to information presented in court, Zanetti led a group that contacted elderly victims across Pittsburgh and other parts of the United States with false stories about detained family members needing bail money. Victims were told to withdraw cash for couriers who were actually part of the conspiracy. Through his plea agreement, Zanetti accepted responsibility for losses between $1.5 million and $3.5 million caused by these actions.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Nathan Abel of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia said, “Preying on seniors by exploiting their love for family—through false claims of emergencies involving their grandchildren—is a particularly cruel form of fraud. HSI, working alongside the Pennsylvania State Police, the Bethel Park Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will track down and disrupt these transnational schemes and ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
Authorities reported that crews under Zanetti’s direction traveled from abroad to Pittsburgh multiple times between September 2021 and February 2022 specifically to carry out this scheme against local residents. All six individuals involved directly have been convicted along with two others extradited from Panama; additional indictments have charged Canadian nationals connected with call centers supporting this operation.
Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan noted before sentencing that Zanetti had an important role in organizing what he described as a complicated fraud carried out with “perfect knowledge” about its different components.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with arrests overseas while Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Bengel prosecuted the case.
