Prosecutors say a man has been sentenced in Los Angeles to a year in federal prison for his role in a scheme to dupe people into believing their grandchildren or other relatives were in trouble in foreign countries and needed money right away.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 48-year-old Pascal Gaudreault pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud.
Investigators say Gaudreault and his co-defendants contacted victims throughout Southern California and falsely told them their relatives needed money immediately to fix a car or bail out of jail or pay hospital bills.
The victims made wire transfers ranging from $1,000 to nearly $3,000. Some victims sent money multiple times.
Another defendant was sentenced in 2014 to five years in federal prison for orchestrating the scam.
Associated Press
