Date: June 13, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Louisville, KY ¡ª A Canadian citizen was sentenced to 5 years and 1 month in federal prison for his role in a sweeping ¡°grandparent scam¡± that targeted victims in Kentucky and across the United States through Canadian-based call centers.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd, Cincinnati Field Office, IRS Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Robert Holman of the United States Secret Service made the announcement.
According to court documents, callers would convince senior victims that their grandchild or other family member had an emergency, usually a car accident, and urgently needed money from the victim. Co-conspirators posing as ¡°couriers¡± would then collect cash from victims at home and others would launder the criminal proceeds, both through traditional banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. The charged wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy spanned from August 2020 to May 2021, and impacted hundreds of victims across the United States¡ªincluding in Kentucky¡ªwho lost over $3 million in total.
Phillipe Gravel-Nadon, a Canadian citizen who was extradited from Colombia to face the federal indictment, was sentenced on June 12, 2025, to 5 years and 1 month in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy. Gravel-Nadon was considered a ¡°manager or supervisor¡± within the conspiracy. He was also ordered to pay $963,290 in restitution.
Five other defendants have previously entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced in the case.
Robert Louis Sanchez, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was sentenced on June 27, 2024, to 1 year and 6 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, for his role both as a courier and sometimes as the ¡°safehouse¡± who would guard cash that was taken from victims.
Jairo Ostia Roberts, who traveled from Panama to the United States to act as a courier in the scheme, was sentenced on March 9, 2023, to 6 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy. Roberts was removed to Panama upon his release from U.S. Bureau of Prisons custody.
Panama Abel Diaz Adames, who also traveled from Panama to the United States to act as a courier in the scheme, was sentenced on April 4, 2024, to 1 year and 4 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy.
Christopher Courcoulacos, a Canadian citizen who had been residing in Panama, was considered a ¡°manager or supervisor¡± within the conspiracy, and was sentenced on November 9, 2023, to 6 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy.
Mark Anthony Phillips, of Ruskin, Florida, was sentenced on May 2, 2024, to 6 years in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charged in the Western District of Kentucky, as well as pleading guilty to five additional money laundering counts, originally charged in the Western District of New York, which were transferred to Kentucky for guilty pleas and sentencing.
¡°These schemes¡ªdesigned to take advantage of vulnerable, well-intentioned victims¡ªare becoming increasingly more prevalent across the country. We will do everything in our power to identify the perpetrators of these frauds and hold them to account,¡± said U.S. Attorney Kyle Bumgarner. ¡°As we do our part to curb these frauds, I would caution the public to be skeptical of any phone call that presents you with an urgent situation that can be remedied by an immediate payment of money. Those requests are generally a fraud, and you should have the courage to hang up the phone when the caller pushes you even harder for money.¡±
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the IRS-CI and USSS with assistance from the Jefferson County Sheriff¡¯s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The Justice Department¡¯s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division¡¯s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) Judicial Attach¨¦ Office in Bogot¨¢ provided valuable assistance with securing the arrest and extradition of Gravel-Nadon to the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne E. Keel prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated and prosecuted as part of the National Elder Justice Task Force and the Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force. The Department of Justice¡¯s mission of its Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department¡¯s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation¡¯s older adults. Kentucky¡¯s task force is comprised of investigators, prosecutors, and others at the local, state, and federal level with a common objective of protecting seniors across Kentucky.
IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attach¨¦ posts abroad.