Convicted Killer Sentenced In Virtual Kidnapping Scam

LOS ANGELES, CA — A San Pedro man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 months of time served for pulling off a "virtual kidnapping" scam in which dozens of victims in Southern California and elsewhere were duped by phone into paying thousands of dollars in ransom to free their family members, who in reality hadn't been kidnapped at all.

Julio Reyes "Muneco" Zuniga, 51, pleaded guilty last year in Los Angeles federal court to two conspiracy counts involving extortion and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Reyes Zuniga, a member of a San Pedro street gang who had been imprisoned in Mexico since 1996 for two murder convictions, was extradited to Los Angeles three years ago to face charges contained in a 31-count indictment.

A federal grand jury in September 2019 returned the indictment, charging Reyes Zuniga with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, 27 counts of extortion, two counts of foreign communication of threats with intent to extort money, and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

"Virtual kidnappings" happen when an unsuspecting victim is told via telephone that a family member has been kidnapped. When the victim answers the phone, there is typically a panicked or gasping voice on the phone pleading for help. Then, through additional deception and threats, the criminal coerces the victim to pay a ransom. The criminal also threatens harm to the family member if the scam victim contacts law enforcement or alerts authorities.

No one is physically kidnapped in these schemes, but the effects are often traumatic for everyone involved. On average, a family sends thousands of dollars to the scammers before contacting law enforcement, according to federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors say that from September 2015 to June 2018, while serving a murder conviction in a prison outside Mexico City, Reyes Zuniga and others acting at his direction falsely represented to victims on the phone that they had kidnapped the victims' child or loved one, and planned to harm them unless a ransom was paid for their release. In reality, no kidnappings had taken place.

He and others working at his direction then demanded ransom payments in the form of wire transfers, cash drops at locations or the purchase of electronics such as iPhones or iPads. Once the funds were wired or delivered, individuals in Mexico delivered the proceeds to the imprisoned Reyes Zuniga. Investigators believe these kind of schemes are perpetrated via cell phones smuggled into Mexican prisons.

City News Service