A Canadian man surnamed Runner (57), was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Eastern District of New York, U.S.A., for perpetrating a massive psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme that stole more than $175 million from more than 1.3 million victims in the United States.

According to court documents, Runner was living in Costa Rica and traveled to Spain where he was arrested and later extradited to the United States in December 2020.

Runner used a series of shell companies registered in Canada and Costa Rica. There were also more companies he registered in Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Spain, stated the U.S. Department of Justice.

Following a two-week trial, a federal jury convicted Runner of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.

Runner operated a mass-mailing fraud scheme from 1994 through November 2014. As part of the scheme, Runner sent letters to millions of U.S. consumers, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable.

The letters falsely purported to be individualized, personal communications from well-known so-called “psychics” (a woman surnamed Duval and a man surnamed Guerin) and promised that the recipient had the opportunity to achieve great wealth and happiness with the assistance of the “psychics” in exchange for payment of a fee.

Once a victim made a single payment in response to one of the letters, the victim was bombarded with dozens of additional letters, all purporting to be personalized communications from the “psychics” and offering additional services and items for a fee.

Although the scheme’s letters frequently stated that a “psychic” had seen a personalized vision regarding the recipient of the letter, in fact, the scheme sent nearly identical form letters to tens of thousands of victims each week.

Runner and his co-conspirators obtained the names of elderly and vulnerable victims by renting and trading mailing lists with other mail fraud schemes. In reality, Duval and Guerin had no role in sending the letters, did not receive responses from the victims, and did not send the additional letters after victims paid money.

In fact, no “psychics” played any role in Runner’s operation. Some victims made dozens of payments in response to the fraudulent letters, losing thousands of dollars.

Runner directed the scheme for the entirety of its twenty-year operation, directing co-conspirators, who ran the day-to-day operations of the scheme through a Canadian company and multiple foreign countries.

“This case demonstrates that the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its partners in the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are committed to investigating and prosecuting transnational fraud schemes targeting Americans consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The global nature of this scheme meant that we had to rely on law enforcement from around the globe to provide evidence of criminality."

According to the Attorney General, officials from France, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Canada, assisted in securing evidence in this matter.

“Runner’s extravagant lifestyle, born on the backs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, has come to an end,” said Inspector in Charge Chris Nielsen of the USPIS Philadelphia Division. “The conviction and federal sentencing of Runner is the appropriate punishment for someone who routinely preyed on vulnerable and elderly Americans.”

Four other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with this mass-mailing fraud scheme such as a woman surnamed Thanos (60) of Montreal, Canada, a man surnamed Lett (53) also from Montreal, a woman surnamed Gore (73) of Indiana U.S.A., and a man surnamed Arnold (62) of Connecticut U.S.A.

Assistant Director John W. Burke and Trial Attorneys Charles B. Dunn, Rachel Baron and Ann Entwistle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance in securing Runner’s extradition.

The U.S. authorities urge individuals to be on the lookout for fraudulent “psychic,” lottery, prize notification and sweepstakes scams. "If you receive a phone call, letter or email promising a large prize in exchange for a fee, do not respond," they said. "Fraudsters often will use official-sounding names or the names of real lotteries or sweepstakes, or pretend to be a government agent purportedly helping to secure a prize."

If an individual, age 60 or older, has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). 

This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can 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 inappropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. 

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 hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available, authorities added.

The Federal Trade Commission also provides a hotline at 877-FTC-HELP and a website to receive consumer complaints.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, those interested should visit its website.

The Department of Justice provides information about a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime website.

 

---------

What have you heard about expats getting scammed in Costa Rica?  We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com