Florida men admit to ‘grandparent scam’

Thousands stolen from residents across Northeast Ohio

Two Florida men pleaded guilty to federal charges from a “grandparent scam” in Northeast Ohio.

Two Florida men have pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from “grandparent scam” the men have admitted running in Northeast Ohio and includes a Mentor man among the victims.

John Tyler Pla, 25, and Johnny Lee Palmer, 26, both pleaded guilty to the nine-count indictment charging them with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio stated the two men are accused of scamming victims out of a combined $383,932.

Both men are scheduled to be sentenced July 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. They will be sentenced by Judge Pamela Barker.

The indictment charged the men with targeting elderly victims in Mentor, Lorain, Gates Mills, Brecksville, Parma, Mansfield, Fairview Park and Westlake. In the scheme, the men would call the elderly victims claiming to be a relative, such as a grandson, granddaughter, or an attorney for the relative, and telling the victim that he or she had been arrested and needed money for bail.

The men are accused of running the scam from July 20 to Aug. 28, 2020.

The scam against the Mentor man happened in late August, according to the indictment. The man received a call from someone pretending to be his grandson and someone pretending to be an attorney for the grandson.

They claimed the grandson needed $8,000 in cash for bail. The alleged scammers then traveled to the home in a U-Haul vehicle to pick up the cash. The victim had dementia, according to court records.

Rented U-Haul vehicles were also used to pick up cash from the seven other victims the men are alleged to have scammed.

The investigation was conducted by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and Westlake Police Department.

For elder victims of financial fraud, the Justice Department operates the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311. The hotline is managed by the Office for Victims of Crime and is staffed by “experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim, and identifying relevant next steps.”

“Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis,” the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Ohio stated in a news release.

The release stated reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and “reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio stated the two men are accused of scamming victims out of a combined $383,932.