NJ man sentenced in 'devastating' grandparent scam that preyed on older Rhode Islanders
A New Jersey man accused of defrauding older Rhode Islanders in a so-called "grandparent scam" was ordered to serve 30 months in prison Monday.
"This isn’t just a financial crime," said U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, noting that victims had been forever changed by the breach of trust.
Bryan Valdez-Espinoza was one of three out-of-state men who pleaded guilty to the scam in July. According to prosecutors, the men contacted elderly victims, pretending to be an attorney or a relative. Victims would be told that one of their family members, typically a grandchild, had been arrested after a car crash and needed money for bail.
The victims were directed to give the money to a courier who would meet them to collect it. Valdez-Espinoza's attorneys argued that he was simply one of those couriers, not a high-level operative behind the scheme.
Judge Smith, during the sentencing hearing, said that he didn't think that was a fair characterization. The three men who traveled to New England to participate in the scam may not have been at "the top of the pyramid," but they played an integral role in carrying out the scheme, he said.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said there were 10 victims of the scheme in Rhode Island, and that five had submitted victim-impact statements indicating that they'd undergone substantial financial hardship.
"The financial impact of this crime was devastating. I have always been frugal and saved my money to use to live independently in my senior years," wrote one woman. "The loss of the money that these men took from me can never be recovered due to my advanced age, and I am now forced to live on a tight budget."
Testifying at the sentencing hearing was the daughter of one victim who said she was there because her mother was not comfortable testifying in court.
The scam "stole my parents, because my parents, before that day, were highly energetic, engaging, focused, strong, self-assured people," she said. She fought back tears as she recalled how frightened she had been when she discovered the scam — at the point when a man was already headed to her 80-year-old parents' home to pick up $6,000 in cash from them.
"I was trying to explain to my mother that the good news was her grandson was fine, but the bad news was that we were going to be robbed," she said, noting that she had called police and been told that it was fraud and not a matter for 911.
The woman said that she and her parents hid inside their home, but her sister showed up and confronted the man. "I thought I'd sent my sister to her death," she said. "I had no idea if this person was violent."
Valdez-Espinoza apologized to his victims in court.
"I understand that this has been a very difficult for them and my heart goes out to them," he said, adding, "I am committed to making better choices from now on and I will never be involved with some like this ever again."
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Grandparent scam perpetrator in Rhode Island sentenced to prison
