They sat in call centers in Montreal and targeted older Americans, claiming to be grandchildren in need of bail money after an arrest. In all, federal prosecutors said, more than two dozen Canadians defrauded hundreds of vulnerable Americans out of $21 million over three years in what the authorities called a “Grandparent Scam.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont announced that 25 Canadian nationals had been charged with conspiring to defraud Americans in 45 states. All of those accused are from Ontario or Quebec, and 23 had been arrested in Canada as of Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, the conspirators placed phone calls from centers in and near Montreal between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024, as part of the scheme.
“Today’s arrests are the result of domestic collaboration as well as our critical international partnerships with our colleagues in Canada, Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Michael J. Krol, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Tackling transnational crime is one of our greatest priorities and we’re working hand-in-hand with our neighbors to dismantle organized criminal groups that threaten our safety and security.”
The call centers were managed by five Canadians who were charged with money laundering in addition to the conspiracy charge that all of those charged face, according to court records.
“These individuals are accused of an elaborate scheme using fear to extort millions of dollars from victims who believed they were helping loved ones in trouble,” Mr. Krol said in the statement.
The conspirators also told the older adults that there was a “gag order” that prevented them from discussing their relative’s predicament with other family members, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
The callers used a variety of tactics to obtain money from the older Americans, according to court records. The most common tactic was to pose as a young relative who had just been arrested after a car accident.
After the victims turned over the money, it was eventually transmitted to Canada, the authorities said, noting that some of the transactions involved cryptocurrency.
The 25 Canadians whose indictments were unsealed on Tuesday joined nine Americans who had previously been charged in the “Grandparent Scam,” the authorities said.
Contacts for those charged or their lawyers were not immediately available.
If convicted, the five managers would face a maximum of 40 years in prison, while the other alleged conspirators would face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
The F.B.I. warned that grandparent schemes targeting older adults are common. One such scheme figured in the plot of the 2024 movie “Thelma,” starring June Squibb, which followed a 93-year-old woman on a journey to reclaim the money that had been stolen from her.
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