A Peruvian national pleaded guilty Tuesday for participating in a transnational mail and wire fraud conspiracy.
According to court documents, Jose Alejandro Zuñiga Cano, 40, of Lima, Peru, was the operator of a Peruvian call centre that defrauded and extorted Spanish-speaking U.S. residents by falsely threatening them with arrest, court proceedings and immigration consequences. Zuñiga was extradited from Peru in March to face charges related to the scheme.
Zuñiga is the 12th defendant to be convicted in connection with a $15 million transnational fraud scheme that defrauded and threatened Spanish-speaking U.S. consumers, claiming they would suffer legal consequences if they did not pay for English-language learning products they never requested. The scheme was responsible for defrauding more than 30,000 Spanish-speaking residents of the United States. Many of the victims were recent immigrants who had expressed interest in learning English.
The 12 defendants include eight Peruvian call centre owner-operators and four distribution centre owner-operators who processed payments, distributed products and facilitated the fraud in the United States. Many of the defendants shared strategies on how to defraud Spanish-speaking residents of the United States.
“The long arm of the American justice system has no limits when it comes to reaching fraudsters who prey on our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and recent immigrants,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “We will not allow transnational criminals to use fear tactics and intimidation to steal money from the public we serve. Individuals who defraud American consumers will be brought to justice, no matter where they are located.”
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch is dedicated to protecting vulnerable U.S. consumers from fraudsters, including those who reside beyond our borders,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“This investigation attests that justice will be pursued relentlessly to protect U.S. consumers,” said Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Field Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked steadfastly to uphold the integrity of our legal system and the postal system. Today’s 12th conviction should send a strong message to those who exploit the mail for criminal use. You will be brought to justice.”
According to court documents, Zuñiga owned and operated a call centre in Lima that placed unsolicited calls to Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States and falsely claimed that they had won or qualified for free products, including computer tablets and English language courses. On later calls, Zuñiga and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that victims were contractually obligated to pay large sums to receive the products.
Zuñiga and his co-conspirators impersonated lawyers, court officials, police officers and representatives of a supposed “minor crimes court” to intimidate victims and force them to send payments. Zuñiga and his co-conspirators threatened victims with court proceedings, arrest and immigration consequences if they did not pay.
Victims who paid were later re-victimized by Zuñiga and his co-conspirators with a related restitution scheme. According to court documents, the defendant and his co-conspirators placed additional calls to victims who had already paid and, while posing as lawyers for a U.S. court, falsely represented that victims were entitled to restitution payments and would receive their money back if they paid the lawyer who purportedly brought the case on their behalf.
In reality, there was no lawyer, no restitution order and no funds returned to the victims who made those additional payments. Instead, Zuñiga kept those additional victim payments for himself.
On June 13, Zuniga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10. Zuniga faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Zuñiga is the eighth defendant to be extradited from Peru and plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud related to Peruvian call centres.
In 2021 and 2022, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr. sentenced Henrry Milla, Carlos Espinoza, Jerson Renteria, Fernan Huerta, Omar Cuzcano, Evelyng Milla and Josmell Espinoza to sentences ranging from 88 to 110 months in prison.
Additionally, four other co-conspirators who facilitated the operations of these call centres have also been sentenced. Most recently, in March 2023, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz sentenced Luis Rendon, the operator of a U.S. distribution centre that facilitated a substantial part of the fraud scheme, to 65 months in prison.
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