5 admit scamming elderly in $3.5M sweepstakes scheme

Five people pleaded guilty to defrauding dozens of elderly victims in a sweepstakes scam that netted the co-conspirators $3.5 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the North- ern District of Georgia said in a news release.

Silvia Sanchez Valverde, 47, Priscilla Sibaja, 21, Daniel Sibaja, 28, and Elpelice Figueroa Rosales, 62, all of Buford, and Rodolfo Orozco Aguilar, 44, of Costa Rica each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering charges in the scheme, according to the release.

“These defendants stole the life savings of dozens of elderly victims and received more than $3.5 million,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said. “These schemes unfor- tunately are all too common, and citizens should be wary of contests that require upfront payments to receive a prize.”

From February 2016 to September 2017, the co-con- spirators called the victims and told them they’d won a sweepstakes or lottery, but to get them they’d have to pay expenses, such as taxes and fees, according to the release.

They instructed the victims to pay their expenses to vari- ous companies controlled by the co-conspirators, such as J.G. Services, RF Financial Services and Master Builders, offi- cials said. The victims would then mail payments via personal and cashier’s checks. The co-conspirators deposited the money into personal bank accounts and then transferred most of the funds to Costa Rican bank accounts, according to the release.

Sentencing is scheduled for November.