Two Peruvians Admit Defrauding Thousands Of Spanish-Speaking US Immigrants - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2021) Two Peruvian men have admitted to running call centers that defrauded Spanish-speaking residents of Florida by falsely threatening them with arrest or deportation if they did not hand over money, the Justice Department said.

"Two Peruvian nationals responsible for operating a series of call centers in Peru that defrauded Spanish-speaking US residents by falsely threatening them with arrest, deportation and other legal consequences pleaded guilty to Federal charges in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida," the department said in a press release on Monday.

The two men, Josmell Espinoza Huerta and his brother Carlos Espinoza Huerta, together operated five such call centers in Peru between April 2011 and July 2019, the release said.

"From April 2011 until July 2019, the Espinoza brothers and their co-conspirators in Peru called victims � many of whom were recent immigrants from Central America, Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries � and fraudulently threatened them with legal consequences if they did not make payments for purportedly delivered products and settlement fees for English-language classes," the release said.

The men admitted that they and their employees falsely claimed to be lawyers, court officials, federal agents or representatives of a "minor crimes court," though no such court exists.

The callers threatened their victims that they would end up in court, be imprisoned, be deported or have sanctions placed on their credit reports, the release said.

Carlos Espinoza swindled more than $1.3 million from victims, while Josmell Espinoza caused victims to lose more than $700,000, the release added.