Anderson, in addition to his accomplices, “regularly” obtained tens of thousands of dollars from the “elderly victims” who withdrew funds from their savings accounts, feds said. Anderson told them that the money would be returned later, according to the release. — AFP
A man pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in connection to a large, multi-state “elder fraud scam” that involved impersonating a variety of people, according to federal officials.
For an eight-month period in 2020, Michael Odell Anderson, a 64-year-old from Crystal Beach, Florida, and Dunn Loring, Virginia, reportedly called people asking for thousands of dollars to help pay for an incarcerated relative’s – often a grandchild’s – fake legal expenses, according to a Nov 7 news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
As part of the scam, Anderson used a number of different identities, posing at various times as a police officer, lawyer, bail bondsman, courier or relative of a supposed jailed loved one, according to the release.
An attorney for Anderson could not immediately be contacted by McClatchy News.
Anderson, in addition to his accomplices, “regularly” obtained tens of thousands of dollars from the “elderly victims” who withdrew funds from their savings accounts, feds said. Anderson told them that the money would be returned later, according to the release.
Using fake names, Anderson and his associates collected funds from victims in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, in addition to other states, according to the release.
Over the course of the scam, they received over US$840,000 (RM3.89mil) from at least 49 victims, according to the release. The majority of the money, over US$570,000 (RM2.64mil), was never returned.
Anderson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though “(a)ctual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties,” according to the release. He will be sentenced in March 2023.
Elder fraud is a common problem in the United States, affecting roughly “one of every 18 cognitively intact, community-dwelling older adults each year,” according to a 2017 study in the American Journal Of Public Health. – The Sacramento Bee/Tribune News Service
