CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a story published on March 9, 2021.
On Monday, U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan announced that both John Tyler Pla, 25, and Johnny Lee Palmer, 26, of Tampa, Florida, plead guilty to operating a "grandparent scam" on vulnerable Northeast Ohioans.
According to Brennan, the pair caused a total loss of $383,932 through targeted schemes to defraud elderly victims in Northeast Ohio.
Court documents say that one member of the scam would call elderly victims claiming to be a loved one- including a grandchild- and ask for money, stating that they had been arrested and needed to make bail. The scammers then would send a courier to pick up the money in-person.
Officials say that the scheme affected residents of Brecksville, Parma, Gates Mills, Lorain, Mansfield, Fairview Park, Westlake, and Mentor between the months of July 2020 to August of 2020.
The two men both plead guilty to a nine-count indictment of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Wire Fraud. The two men will be sentenced on July 26.
The Department of Justice says that any person 60-years-of-age or older who may have been the victim of financial fraud is encouraged to reach out to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at (833) 372-8311.
Editor's note: the video in the player below is from a story published on March 23, 2021.