Warwick Senior Citizen Targeted In Grandparent Scam: DOJ

WARWICK, RI — A Providence man and woman are accused of running a so-called “grandparent scam” targeting elderly residents in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and a Warwick man is among the victims.

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Vidal “Sandy” Roquez, 35, and Schmitt A. Prado, 26, are charged with conspiring to defraud senior citizens in Portsmouth, Tiverton, Cranston, South Kingstown, and Warwick, and in the Massachusetts towns of Shrewsbury, Northborough, and Weston, a recent federal indictment states.

Roquez and Prado allegedly targeted nine elderly victims in late 2019 and early 2020 by calling them and claiming that money was needed immediately to assist a young relative who had been arrested or jailed. One of them would sometimes pose as a lawyer or police officer. The victims were often told that a “gag order” was in place that prevented them from sharing too many details. Victims reported that a person wearing a uniform-style vest would arrived at their home in a white van to collect the cash, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island.

In the Warwick case, a man identified by federal prosecutors as "L.S." on Feb. 7, 2020 received a call from someone who claimed to be a Cranston police officer. The caller told the man that his grandson had been involved in a motor vehicle crash, injuring two women. The caller said the grandson was arrested and needed $14,000 to get out of jail. A third party joined the call and falsely claimed to be the grandson, the indictment alleges. Later that day, prosecutors said Roquez traveled to Warwick and retrieved the cash from a representative of the elderly victim.

A Little Compton resident on Feb. 18 called police after getting such a call. A caller had told him his granddaughter crashed into a police cruiser while taking a selfie and needed $9,000 cash bail. The money was to be paid to a bail bondsman who would arrive at the man’s house. When the fake bail bondsman arrived, police officers questioned and arrested Prado, the indictment states.

Further investigation led police to identify a white van, and the van was traced to Roquez’s residence, prosecutors said.

A federal grand jury handed down an indictment charging Prado and Roquez with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Myrus, Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge William Walker, and Little Compton Police Chief Scott Raynes. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise M. Barton.

Myrus thanked the Warwick, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Cranston, and South Kingstown police departments and the Rhode Island Fusion Center for their help investigating the case.