Dominican National Extradited to The United States for Allegedly Laundering Proceeds from Elder Fraud Scheme

BOSTON - A Dominican national has been extradited to the United States for his alleged role in a transnational "call center" operation in the Dominican Republic that tricked hundreds of elderly victims in the United States into believing that their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money. In total, the investigation identified over 400 victims with an average age of 84, including at least 50 in Massachusetts, and more than $5 million in losses.

Gerardo Heriberto Nuñez Nuñez, 42, was arrested in August 2025 in the Dominican Republic at the request of the United States and extradited on March 18, 2026. He appeared in federal court in Boston today and was detained pending trial. The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024 and is charged with one count of money laundering conspiracy.

According to the charging documents, the defendant allegedly served as a money launderer for a sophisticated "call center" operation in the Dominican Republic that defrauded hundreds of elderly victims in the United States. English-speaking employees of the call center carried out what are commonly known as "grandparent scams," in which they tricked elderly victims into believing that their grandchildren or other close family members were in trouble and needed money. One employee would call victims and pretend to be a grandchild who was in an accident. Then, another employee would allegedly follow up with another call, pretending to be the grandchild's attorney, asking for a sum of money to pay for the grandchild's attorney's fees. Callers would instruct elderly victims to provide cash to "runners" in the United States.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendant laundered illicit proceeds from the operation back to the Dominican Republic. The defendant provided the call center operators with access to bank accounts in the names of purported businesses. The runners would then deposit cash from victims into those bank accounts. The defendant also arranged for the runners to hand-deliver cash from victims to individuals in New York and elsewhere. The defendant then provided cash to the call center operators in the Dominican Republic. The defendant allegedly charged the call center operators a fee of approximately 8 to 10 percent in exchange for transmitting scam proceeds from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

Charges were unsealed in August 2025 against the defendant and 12 others who operated the call center or served as runners. Members of the public who believe they may be victims of this case, or other elder fraud scams, should contact [email protected] or call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Suspected fraud can also be reported on the FBI's IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center.

The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the amount of laundered funds, whichever is greater. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition to the United States of Nuñez Nuñez. Valuable assistance was provided by the Dominican National Police; División Especial de Investigación del Crimen Organizado Internacional (DEICROI); Central de Investigaciones Criminales (DICRIM); and the Ministerio Publico. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.