25 Canadians Charged in Shocking Multimillion-Dollar U.S. ‘Grandparent Scam’: What You Need to Know

Many Canadians are in trouble for allegedly scamming millions from elderly people in the U.S. This has been reported by Vermont’s acting state attorney. The scams affected victims in nearly every state.

On February 20, a federal grand jury officially charged 25 Canadians with a “grandparent scam” that ran from summer 2021 until June 4, 2024. This scheme involved making fraudulent calls from call centers located near Montréal.

During these calls, the scammers posed as family members, often claiming to be grandchildren. They would say they had been arrested and needed money to pay bail. Some even pretended to be lawyers, insisting that a “gag order” meant the victims couldn’t talk about the arrest.

Typically, these elderly victims ended up sending money to fake bail bondsmen. In total, this scam reached across 46 states, defrauding victims of over $21 million.

On June 4, 2024, Canadian authorities raided several call centers. Many accused scammers were caught in the act while placing calls to elderly victims in Virginia. Among those charged were five individuals who are also accused of money laundering in connection with these scams.

Here are some names mentioned in the case:

• Gareth West, 38, from Burlington, Ontario
• Usman Khalid, 36, from Les Coteaux, Québec
• Andrew Tatto, 43, from Pierrefonds, Québec
• Stephan Moskwyn, 42, from Pierrefonds
• Ricky Ylimaki, 31, from Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec
• And many others, totaling 25 accused individuals.

As of now, most of the accused have been arrested. However, Gareth West and Jimmy Ylimaki are still at large. This case highlights the importance of vigilance against scams that target vulnerable people, especially the elderly.

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