The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California announced a guilty plea in a $27 million transnational fraud and money-laundering scheme that used technical-support, bank-impersonation and refund scams run through overseas call centers. Prosecutors said roughly 2,000 elderly U.S. residents were victimized, underscoring continued cross-border elder-fraud operations and recovery efforts.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California reported a guilty plea by a lead defendant in a $27 million multinational fraud and money-laundering enterprise that targeted approximately 2,000 elderly U.S. residents. The scheme reportedly operated through overseas call centers and combined technical-support scams, bank-impersonation calls, and fake-refund operations to obtain personal information, induce transfers, and launder proceeds. Investigators described coordinated call-center tactics, repeated victim contacts, and use of financial intermediaries to move funds across jurisdictions, complicating victim recovery. The plea highlights ongoing priorities for federal prosecutors to disrupt call-center networks, seize assets, and return funds to victims while pursuing transnational cooperation with foreign law enforcement. The release stresses victim assistance, forensic accounting to trace stolen funds, and the need for public awareness campaigns aimed at older adults and their caretakers. The case illustrates both the human cost of large-scale elder fraud and the multifaceted investigative work required to prosecute and remediate such schemes.