PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A man who was living in Passaic County illegally has admitted to a "sophisticated grandparent fraud scheme," according to federal officials.
Engels Guillermo Almengot Valerio, 26, a Dominican Republic man living in Paterson, was sentenced to two years in a Pennsylvania prison last week.
Valerio, along with co-conspirator Luis Alfonso Bisono Rodriguez, 35, living in Ohio, laundered proceeds obtained from a sophisticated grandparent fraud scheme operating out of the Dominican Republic, according to officials.
Specifically, the pair would contact elderly residents and claim to be their grandchildren in crisis and in need of financial help.
The duo then arranged for rideshare drivers to pick up cash from the grandparents and deliver the money to a member of the organized crime group, with both Rodriguez and Valerio having received cash directly from drivers, investigators said.
In addition to the two-year prison sentence, Valerio will be subject to three years of parole supervision following his release.
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