Three men admit to roles in 'grandparents scheme' targeting elderly Rhode Islanders

PROVIDENCE — The victims ranged in age from 79 to 94 and lived all over the state. In all, 14 elderly Rhode Islanders fell victim to an international scheme to defraud grandparents by convincing them their grandchildren were behind bars and needed to be bailed out.

Three men from New York and New Jersey admitted in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to plotting with unnamed others to scam elderly residents out of cash payments ranging from $9,500 to $85,000, according to U.S Attorney Zachary Cunha’s office.

In total, the men collected $350,815 in fraudulent payments, with victims targeted in Barrington, Cranston, Coventry, Cumberland, East Providence, Hopkinton, Johnston, North Kingstown, Smithfield and Warwick, prosecutors said.

How the 'grandparents scheme' worked

The victims were directed to provide the cash to a courier who would arrive at their home, authorities said. In some instances, callers posed as lawyers, seeking more money, they said, because the bail had increased due to the gravity of the charges their grandchild faced.

Some victims were instructed to mail the cash to an address in Florida or to electronically transfer the funds to an account in the Dominican Republic. Others were told a “gag order” was in effect, barring them from disclosing the case or the cash payments to anyone.

Jason Hatcher, 40, of New York City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft during a virtual hearing before Judge William E. Smith.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland, Hatcher willfully remained blind to the details of the scheme as he traveled to Rhode Island from New York in June 2021 and picked up cash from elderly residents under the guise that it was needed as cash bail for their grandchildren.

Hatcher picked up cash or attempted to do so from residents living on Woodville Alton Road in Hopkinton, Balsam Lane at Fir Drive in Smithfield, Quail Street in Cumberland, Wakefield Street in Cranston and Country View Drive in Warwick, said Ferland, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Lowell. The cash was then distributed among the group.

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Prosecutors agreed to recommend that Hatcher, who remains detained, be sentenced to 24 to 33 months in prison under a plea agreement reached just ahead of trial.

Without the plea agreement, the three men faced prison sentences as long as 22 years if convicted.

Cash courier says he was murky on scam details

Diego A. Alarcon, 22, of Union City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The government agreed to dismiss one count of aggravated identity theft and recommend that he be sentenced to 24 to 33 months behind bars in exchange for his admissions.

Authorities said Alarcon also remained willfully blind to the details of the conspiracy but plotted with others in June 2021 to get cash from residents of Carousel Drive in East Providence, Sweet Hill Drive in Johnston, Balsam Lane at Fir Drive in Smithfield, Cromwell Avenue in Warwick, County Road in Barrington and Alvero Road in Coventry.

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The co-conspirators posed as Terence B.'s grandson, Jackson B., convincing Terence that he was in need of cash bail, Ferland said. The cash was collected and, again, distributed among the group.

Alarcon appeared murky on the details of the scheme Tuesday, telling Judge Smith that he thought he had been hired as a private courier when he took the job and traveled from New Jersey to Rhode Island. Alarcon, who attended the court hearing remotely from his bedroom, admitted to the court minutes later that he knew he was engaged in something illegal, but participated anyway. He remains free on conditions.

The third man, Bryan Valdez-Espinosa, 22, of Union City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for traveling from New Jersey to New England under the scheme.

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Like Alarcon, Valdez-Espinosa told the court he wasn’t aware of the scope of the scheme until his arrest.

“I wasn’t aware of the elderly people until the very end,” he said.

He attempted to collect a cash payment from a woman on Henry Street in Cranston, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors agreed to recommend that Valdez-Espinosa, who remains free on conditions, serve 12 to 33 months.

Sentencing for all three men is set for October before Smith.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI 'grandparents scam': Three men plead guilty in case