Two Nevada Men Convicted Of Fraud Against Pittsburgh Seniors
Elderly people are among the most vulnerable to Internet scams. Seniors are more likely to be lonely and therefore to respond to emails, Facebook messages, What’s App messages, and other forms of online communication when these messages come from people they do not know. They also tend to be less Internet savvy; you might think that it is shady if someone asks you to send a picture of your credit car over What’s App, but your grandparents might think that this is just what people do on the Internet these days. They might think that sending your credit card information on What’s App is not so different from typing your credit card information into the Uber app. Talking to strangers online is not a crime, and neither is befriending a lonely elderly person. If you are being accused of Internet financial crimes against an elderly person, but you think that your actions were perfectly legal, contact a Pittsburgh white collar crime lawyer.
Federal Charges Apply When Online Communications Cross State Lines
If you communicate with an elderly person online, and the elderly person sends you money in response to your direct or indirect requests, you could be charged with wire fraud if authorities believe that you made false or misleading statements in an attempt to persuade the sender to send you the money. If you live in another state and the person who sent you the money in response to your online communications lives in Pennsylvania, you could be charged in federal court. Wire fraud cases often go through the federal courts, because online communications almost always cross state lines.
In the News
Roderick Feurtado and Tarek Bouanane live in Las Vegas, but last month they traveled to Pittsburgh to stand trial. It was not the first time they had visited Pennsylvania. Feurtado and Bouanane participated in a conspiracy in which conspirators emailed elderly people in the Pittsburgh area and told them that their grandchildren were facing criminal charges. They claimed that the grandchildren were being detained and needed money to post bail and pay for legal counsel, among other expenses related to their criminal cases.
The conspirators claimed that the only way to get the money to the grandchildren was to withdraw it from the bank in cash and to arrange a pickup by a courier who would take the money where it needed to go. Bouanane acted as a courier and visited victims at their houses to collect the money. He would then deliver it to Feurtado, who went on to deliver it to other conspirators. Feurtado, 56, and Bouanane, 47, both pleaded not guilty to wire fraud in a federal court in Pennsylvania, but both were found guilty at the end of a five-day trial.
Contact Gary E. Gerson About Financial Crimes
A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for wire fraud or Internet scams. Contact the law offices of Gary E. Gerson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania about your case.
Source:
post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/09/30/roderick-feurtado-tarek-bouanane-fraud-grandparents/stories/202309290124
