25 Canadians charged in multimillion-dollar American 'grandparent scam'

Dozens of Canadians are facing charges for scamming millions of dollars out of elders in the U.S., according to the office of the acting state attorney for Vermont. The victims span from almost every state in the country.

The backstory:

On Feb. 20, a federal grand jury charged 25 Canadian nationals with participating in a "grandparent scam" between the summer of 2021 and June 4, 2024.

According to the unsealed indictment, those individuals made fraudulent calls from call centers in and around Montréal.

During those calls, the suspects claimed to be related to the elderly victims, usually claiming to be a grandchild. They would say they had been arrested after a car crash and desperately needed money to post bail.

Some of the suspects would pretend to be a lawyer representing a loved one. They would tell the victim there was a "gag order" that prevented the victim from telling anyone about the supposed arrest.

In most cases, the elderly victims were convinced to send money to a fake bail bondsman. 

On June 4, 2024, Canadian law enforcement executed search warrants at several call centers. That's how they said they caught many of the defendants in the act of making calls to victims in Virginia.

In total, victims were targeted in 46 states for more than $21 million.

On June 4, 2024, when law enforcement in Canada executed search warrants at several call centers, many of the defendants were found in the act of placing phone calls to elderly victims in Virginia. The indictment alleges the call centers were managed by West, Khalid, Tatto, Moskwyn, and Ricky Ylimaki, and also charges these five defendants with conspiring to commit money laundering. The conspiracy defrauded elderly Americans out of more than $21 million.

25 Canadian Nationals accused of scamming American elders

What we know:

Michael P. Drescher, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, named the individuals accused of scamming elders across most of the U.S.:

• Gareth West, also known as Buddy and Muscles, 38, of Burlington, Ontario
• Usman Khalid, also known as Paul and Pauly, 36, of Les Coteaux, Québec
• Andrew Tatto, also known as Chevy and Truck, 43, of Pierrefonds, Québec
• Stephan Moskwyn, also known as HK, 42, of Pierrefonds
• Ricky Ylimaki, also known as Ruffles, 31, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec
• Richard Frischman, also known as Styx, 31, of Montréal
• Adam Lawrence, also known as Carter, 41, of Lasalle, Québec
• Michael Filion, also known as Elvis, 45, of Pierrefonds
• Jimmy Ylimaki, also known as Coop, 35, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot
• Nicolas Gonzalez, also known as Brady, 27, of Kirkland, Québec
• Ryan Melanson, also known as Parker, 27, of Montréal
• Joy Kalafatidis, also known as Blondie, 31, of Pointe-Claire, Québec
• David Arcobelli, also known as Phil, 36, of Pierrefonds
• Jonathan Massouras, also known as Borze, 35, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Québec
• Nicholas Shiomi, also known as Keanu, 42, of Montréal
• Antonio Iannacci, also known as DJ 33, of Pierrefonds
• Jonathan Ouellet, also known as Sunny, 29, of Saint-Eustache, Québec
• Kassey-Lee Lankford, also known as Lex, 28, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec
• Sara Burns, also known as Ginger 31, of Dollard-Des Ormeaux
• Justin Polenz, also known as Happy, 34, of Montréal
• Ryan Thibert, also known as Toast, 37, of Vaudreuil-Dorion
• Michael Farella, also known as Honda, 29, of Sainte-Geneviève, Québec
• Sebastian Guenole, also known as Tweeter, 30, of Pierrefonds
• Ryan Bridgman, also known as Clint, 37, of Deux-Montagnes, Québec
• Stephanie-Marie Samaras, also known as North, 29, of Laval, Québec

What's next:

All but two of the accused were arrested in Canada on Tuesday.

Gareth West and Jimmy Ylimaki are still on the run.