Massachusetts man indicted in nationwide elder fraud sweep of more than 250 defendants

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and law enforcement partners announced Thursday the largest coordinated sweep of elder fraud cases in history. The cases involve more than two hundred and fifty defendants from around the globe who victimized more than a million Americans, most of whom were elderly. The cases include criminal, civil, and forfeiture actions across more than 50 federal districts. Of the defendants, 200 were charged criminally. In each case, offenders engaged in financial schemes that targeted or largely affected seniors. In total, the charged elder fraud schemes caused losses of more than half a billion dollars.

Richard Cody of Massachusetts is one of the defendants. He has been indicted on charges regarding allegedly victimizing 3 elderly victims out of their retirement funds. While registered and acting as an investment advisor to the victims, Cody engaged in acts, transactions, and practices that were fraudulent, deceptive, and manipulative towards his victims according to the indictment. They believed their funds were safe, when in fact they were not.

“The Justice Department and its partners are taking unprecedented, coordinated action to protect elderly Americans from financial threats, both foreign and domestic,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Today’s actions send a clear message: we will hold perpetrators of elder fraud schemes accountable wherever they are. When criminals steal the hard-earned life savings of older Americans, we will respond with all the tools at the Department’s disposal – criminal prosecutions to punish offenders, civil injunctions to shut the schemes down, and asset forfeiture to take back ill-gotten gains. Today is only the beginning. I have directed Department prosecutors to coordinate with both domestic law enforcement partners and foreign counterparts to stop these criminals from exploiting our seniors.”

The actions charged a variety of fraud schemes, ranging from mass mailing, telemarketing and investment frauds to individual incidences of identity theft and theft by guardians. A number of cases involved transnational criminal organizations that defrauded hundreds of thousands of elderly victims, while others involved a single relative or fiduciary who took advantage of an individual victim. The schemes charged in these cases caused losses to more than a million victims.

“Winners. That’s what so many of the people who received these solicitations in the mail thought they were. But they’re not. They are victims (link is external) (link is external) of scams that Postal Inspectors have seen and investigated for decades. In fact, some of the same operators we encountered 20 years ago are back. But so are we. Yesterday, Postal Inspectors around the country executed search warrants on 12 locations that some of these same operators used to run their scams. We’re letting the American public know – and especially our vulnerable older Americans – that Postal Inspectors are working hard to protect them and ensure their confidence in the U.S. Mail,” said Chief Postal Inspector Cottrell.

“Over the last year, the FBI has initiated more than 200 financial crimes cases involving elderly victims who were devastated financially, emotionally, mentally and physically. Picking up the pieces of these fraud schemes can be equally as traumatizing for the caregivers of these elderly victims,” said Acting Deputy Director Bowdich. “The FBI reminds seniors and their caregivers to be vigilant. If any person believes they are the victim of, or have knowledge of fraud involving an elderly person, regardless of the loss amount, they should report it to the FBI.”

Some examples of the elder financial exploitation prosecuted by the Department include:

“Lottery phone scams,” in which callers convince seniors that a large fee or taxes must be paid before one can receive lottery winnings;
“Grandparent scams,” which convince seniors that their grandchildren have been arrested and need bail money;
“Romance scams,” which lull victims to believe that their online paramour needs funds for a U.S. visit or some other purpose;
“IRS imposter schemes,” which defraud victims by posing as IRS agents and claiming that victims owe back taxes;
“Guardianship schemes,” which siphon seniors’ financial resources into the bank accounts of deceitful relatives or guardians.