5 people tasked with helping Alabama woman — as live-in caretakers, cleaners and hairdressers — instead allegedly stole more than $200K from her in elder fraud scheme

by Serah Louis

An elderly woman who received full-time care in her Birmingham, Alabama home due to medical issues was allegedly defrauded of more than $200,000 by the people supposed to care for her.

Fed officials recently announced five individuals, including the woman’s caretakers, house cleaner and hairdresser, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The perpetrators are accused of scheming to swindle the woman using her credit card information, with the crimes taking place between December 2020 and February 2022.

The conspirators ran up the victim’s credit cards

The Birmingham woman’s caretakers, Mykia Henderson and her mother, Cynthia Mixon — along with Henderson’s husband, Corey Webb — are accused of stealing and using her credit card information.

Based on financial records, the family appears to have helped themselves to over $40,000, reports the Miami Herald. They used business banking services like Square and Stripe to charge the woman’s credit cards, as well as issue checks to themselves using her bank accounts and transferring those funds to their personal bank accounts.

Two other women in the victim’s orbit are implicated in the fraud. Whitney Wallace, a house cleaner, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March, after she stole the victim’s credit card information and continued using the card to make purchases even after she stopped working for the woman.

Wallace spent about $43,227 on purchases from Amazon, Target and DoorDash — which included a commercial-grade bounce house, a 75-inch TV and pricey shoes, the Miami Herald discovered.

And the woman’s hairdresser, Shakira English, used her Square account to charge her client’s credit cards over $130,000, moving the funds to her personal bank account. English has been charged with 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft.

Elder fraud is becoming a major problem in the US

Financial elder abuse is harming older adults across America and their perpetrators can be friends, family, neighbors, or even caregivers and other professionals.

A 2022 AARP report says the rate of elder financial exploitation has more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

And an April analysis from the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says filings show roughly $27 billion in suspicious activity related to elder financial exploitation in just one year between June 2022 and June 2023.

In some cases, the scammers may bleed funds from credit cards and bank accounts, fail to repay money they owe, make exorbitant charges for their services or not do what they were already paid to do. They might make calls pretending to be from the IRS, Social Security  Administration or Medicare, or send phishing emails and texts.

If you suspect you or someone you know has been scammed, contact your bank or financial services provider right away. In certain cases, your bank can cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions or monitor your accounts. You can also report a scam to the Federal Trade Commission and call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.

There are Adult Protective Services agencies across the country that you can reach out to as well if you suspect someone you know might be a victim of elder abuse.

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5 people tasked with helping Alabama woman — as live-in caretakers, cleaners and hairdressers — instead allegedly stole more than $200K from her in elder fraud scheme

Two charged in ‘grandparent scam’

CLEVELAND — Two Tampa, Fla. men are charged in a nine-count federal indictment involving the scamming of elderly people throughout the Northern Ohio district.

John Tyler Pla, 25, and Johnny Lee Palmer, 25, both of Tampa, are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. A federal grand jury sitting in Toledo returned the indictments.

“Protecting our district’s elderly and vulnerable populations from scammers and fraudsters is an important part of the work we do every day at the Justice Department,” Herdman said. “Manipulating and exploiting our district’s elderly in any way, for any reason, will be met with swift prosecution.”

FBI Special Agent Eric B. Smith said his unit is increasingly watching over the elderly to prevent scams.

“The FBI encourages everyone to educate their elderly family and friends on financial scams such as this,” Smith said, referring to the case against the Florida men. “These two fraudsters played on the heart-strings of grandparents. Discussions prior to receiving a possible phone call from scammers can prevent your loved one from being a victim.”

According to the indictment, from July 20 to Aug. 28 this year, the defendants are accused of conspiring together to orchestrate a “grandparent scam” on elderly victims in Brecksville, Parma, Gates Mills, Lorain, Mansfield, Fairview Park, Westlake and Mentor.

To conduct their alleged scheme, the defendants are accused of calling elderly victims in these areas claiming to be a relative — such as a grandson, granddaughter, or an attorney for the relative — and informing the elderly victim that he or she had been arrested and needed money for bail.

The indictment states that the conspirators would then arrange for a purported courier to pick up the money in person. The defendants would then rent a U-Haul vehicle and travel to the victims’ residence to collect the money in person. In total, the victims suffered a combined loss of $383,932.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and Westlake Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McDonough.

According to Herdman, this case is part of the Justice Department’s 2020 national Money Mule initiative. The Money Mule initiative seeks to stop the financial exploitation of the nation’s elderly and vulnerable populations.

Since President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act into law, the Department of Justice has participated in hundreds of enforcement actions in criminal and civil cases that targeted or disproportionately affected seniors.

In particular, in March, the department announced the largest elder fraud enforcement action in American history, charging more than 400 defendants in a nationwide elder fraud sweep.

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Two charged in ‘grandparent scam’

Utah man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for defrauding elderly Utah woman of nearly $300k

Frank Gene Powell

by: Jennifer Gardiner

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 News) – A convicted murderer on parole who bilked an 80-year-old St. George woman out of nearly $300,000 will spend a minimum of 10 years behind bars.

Frank Gene Powell, 51, pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, two counts of destruction of records in a federal investigation, concealment of a document or object in an attempt to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding, and tampering with a witness.

Powell was sentenced Thursday morning in St. George in front of U.S. District Judge David Nuffer to 10 years in federal prison and to pay $273,849.20 in restitution. Additionally, Powell will also forfeit two vehicles and be on supervised release for three years following his release from federal prison.

At the time of the crimes, Powell had only been on parole since 2017 after spending 30-years behind bars for the 1987 murder of 20-year-old Glen Candland who Powell ran over with his truck after an argument at a party. While incarcerated, Powell was convicted of sexually assaulting an inmate.

Frank Powell admitted he conspired with several others, including his girlfriend, Faye Renteria, 42, of Hurricane, to come up with a plan to steal money from the woman. He also admitted he engaged in a fake romantic relationship with the victim as a part of this plan.

Powell also pleaded guilty to witness tampering after he attempted to stop the victim from communicating with law enforcement officers investigating the case.

“Powell is a career criminal who has fended off decades of rehabilitative attempts in the Utah state criminal justice system. He’s a convicted murderer and sexual predator, who has now turned his criminal efforts to elder fraud while on state parole,” U.S. Attorney for Utah John W. Huber said today. “With these guilty pleas, he stands convicted of unconscionable crimes against a senior member of the St. George community. A 10-year sentence is very appropriate in this case and will help ensure that Utah will not fall victim to his crimes again.”

Eight defendants in all were charged in a 10-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in January.

“This crime is especially heinous because Frank Powell not only deceived and defrauded the victim, he made it a family affair,” said Special Agent in Charge Paul Haertel of the Salt Lake City FBI. “As a society, we should be looking out for the elderly, not exploiting them. Crimes like this will be aggressively investigated, and we encourage the public to immediately report any fraud to law enforcement or the FBI.”

Frank Powell’s mother Gloria Jean Powell, 74, of St. George, was sentenced to time served on May 1, after pleading guilty to one count of concealment of a document or object, admitting she tried to hide the stolen money and she helped her son and her daughter, Angela McDuffie, 53, of Lehi, in the scheme.

Renteria, who is in custody, will be sentenced on July 15 after pleading guilty on May 7. She admitted she engaged in misleading the victim and attempted to stop her from communicating with law enforcement.

She faces up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 10 years for each count of money laundering, 20 years for each count of destruction of records or tangible objects in a federal investigation, and up to 10 years for the witness tampering conviction.

Bubby Mern Shepherd, 58, of Lodi, California, and Rocky James Powell Mott, 40, of Hurricane, both of whom are still in custody, both pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Their plea deal include a stipulated sentence of 21 months in prison.

Cases are pending against McDuffie, Terrence Quincy Powell, 24, of St. George, and Martell Taz Powell, 25, of Cedar City. Trial in those cases are scheduled for September.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah said combating elder abuse and financial fraud targeted at seniors is a key priority.

A statement issued in a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice reads:

“Elder abuse is a serious crime against some of our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, affecting at least 10 percent of older Americans every year. Together with federal, state, local and tribal partners, the Department of Justice is committed to combating all forms of elder abuse and financial exploitation through enforcement actions, training and resources, research, victim services, and public awareness. This holistic and robust response demonstrates the Department’s unwavering dedication to fighting for justice for older Americans.”

For tips on how to prevent Elder Financial Abuse, the Department of Justice has created a prevention awareness campaign with valuable information.

You can view that document: Stopping-Elder-Financial-Abuse

Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Utah are prosecuting the case. The FBI is investigating the case. Agents with Utah Adult Probation and Parole have made signification contributions to the investigation.

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Utah man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for defrauding elderly Utah woman of nearly $300k

‘Runner’ in IRS Phone Scam Arrested for Bilking $360K from Elderly U.S. Residents

An Indian American man involved in a complicated IRS phone scam scheme that bilked more than $360,000 from elderly U.S. residents made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts, July 7 and was released without bail, on his own recognizance.

Ashokkumar ‘Andy’ Patel, believed to be a “runner” in a scheme possibly involving call centers in India, was arrested in Schaumburg, Illinois, after a criminal complaint compiled by FBI Special Agent Andrew Nambu was unsealed June 28. He appeared in court in Worcester, where he formerly resided while allegedly participating in the fraud.

Patel is charged with three felony counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering.

Reached at his office, Nambu told India-West he could not comment on a pending investigation.

According to the criminal complaint, Patel was involved in scamming at least three elderly residents of Massachusetts in a 10-month period, beginning in December 2013. In one instance, a caller posing as an attorney from the Central Investigation Bureau, and the Central Investigation Division, left several calls on the landline of a retired and disabled internal medicine physician in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

When the victim answered one of the calls, the caller identified himself as an attorney with the U.S. government, and stated there was a warrant for her arrest because she owed taxes.

The victim – identified only as V.A. – believed that the caller was legitimately from the U.S. government, because he correctly stated her maiden name, social security number, date of birth, and other identifying information, according to the complaint.

The caller spoke to V.A. in Hindi, which she understood. She was told to purchase several “MoneyPak” cards, and initially sent $20,000.

Between Dec. 20, 2013 and Feb. 7, 2014, the victim transferred approximately $85,000 to the bogus operation. The elderly woman stated she was in pain from her medical condition and had difficulty driving her car, but the calls nevertheless persisted.

In a second case, a victim residing in Lexington, Massachusetts, received a voicemail from (800) 829-1040, asking him to call back the Internal Revenue Service at (202) 754-8639.

The following day, the victim – identified as K.N. – received a call from a Kevin, who identified himself as an IRS agent. K.N. was told there was a warrant for his arrest because of back taxes, and that he immediately had to pay $10,500.

According to the criminal complaint, K.N. told investigators that he heard voices in the background during the call speaking Hindi or Gujarati.

Patel allegedly transferred K.N.’s preloaded MoneyPak cards into Green Dot debit cards, then used the cards to obtain MoneyGram money orders. The funds were then deposited into Bank of America accounts, which constitutes wire fraud, according to the complaint.

In a third instance, a 65-year-old resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, was bilked of more than $44,000 in July 2014, in the same scheme.

Patel is believed to be the “runner” in all three scams, transferring the victims’ pre-loaded debit cards into MoneyGram and Western Union money orders, which he then deposited into bank accounts.

 Between the period of November 2013 and September 2015, Patel deposited more than $145,000 into his Bank of America account from unknown sources.

Thomas Dahdouh, Western region director of the Federal Trade Commission, told India-West that in IRS scams, “we have a sense that they are getting leads from payday loan Web sites.”

“They are getting folks who are in their last dollar situations,” he said, noting that this was only one of several ways that fraudsters identify their targets.

He explained that “money mules” – like Patel – are people who transfer funds collected in the U.S. to offshore agencies, whom the FTC has been attempting to go after.

A significant number of “IRS scam boiler rooms” are based in India, said Dahdouh. He noted that the Indian government had raided several boiler rooms last fall, and the number of complaints about scam calls significantly dropped.

But the drop reversed this spring, he said, noting that fraudsters have re-organized themselves after the raids.

Dahdouh noted that – in the past – the IRS would never call a person who owed taxes and would communicate only by written letters. That has changed however: IRS agents have been hired in recent months to call people to collect back taxes, leaving consumers confused about legitimate callers, he told India-West.

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‘Runner’ in IRS Phone Scam Arrested for Bilking $360K from Elderly U.S. Residents