Two Dominicans extradited to U.S. and charged for targeting elders with million-dollar scam

Two Dominicans were extradited to the United States and appeared before a federal court in Newark on charges related to their involvement in a large-scale "elder fraud" scheme that defrauded American seniors of millions of dollars.

Rafael Ambiorix Rodríguez Guzmán, also known as Max Morgan, and Félix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, also known as "Fili" and "Filly The Kid," are among 11 Dominicans indicted on 19 counts in the case, revealed on April 29 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Back then, HSI New York acting Special Agent in Charge Darren B. McCormack declared the following:

"Today's announcement stems from the defendants' alleged heartless targeting of elderly victims who were collectively tricked into handing over millions of dollars. For their own selfish gain, these accused individuals threatened innocent Americans' livelihoods, and robbed them of their precious time and any nest eggs they had secured for themselves."

According to the indictment, Rodríguez Guzmán, Reynoso Ventura, and their co-conspirators targeted hundreds of seniors across the United States, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. They allegedly operated from call centers in the Dominican Republic, contacting elderly Americans to trick them into stealing their money.

Court documents detail that conspirators, known as "openers," would call victims in the United States, posing as their children, grandchildren, or other close relatives. The call centers used technology to make it appear the calls originated from within the United States. Typically, the victims were told their grandchild had been in a car accident, arrested, and needed help.

Once the openers convinced victims their relatives were in grave danger, other call center workers, known as "closers" — including Rodríguez Guzmán and Reynoso Ventura — allegedly posed as defense attorneys, police officers, or court officials to persuade victims to provide thousands of dollars in cash to assist their relatives. The cash was usually collected by couriers sent to victims' homes or mailed by the victims under the closers' instructions.

According to a statement by the U.S. embassy in Santo Domingo, if convicted, Rodríguez Guzmán and Reynoso Ventura face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count, a maximum fine of $250,000 for each mail and wire fraud charge, and a maximum fine of $500,000 for conspiracy to commit money laundering.