Canadian man sentenced for grandparent scam that targeted Kentucky victims and others

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WBKO) - A Canadian citizen was sentenced for his role in a sweeping “grandparent scam” that targeted victims in Kentucky and across the United States through Canadian-based call centers.

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, including in Kentucky, who lost over $3 million.

35-year-old Phillipe Gravel-Nadon, a Canadian citizen who was extradited from Colombia to face the federal indictment, was sentenced on June 12 to five years and one month in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy. He 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.

58-year-old Robert Louis Sanchez of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was sentenced on June 27, 2024, to one year and six months in prison, followed by three 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.

44-year-old 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 six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for wire fraud conspiracy. He was removed to Panama upon his release from U.S. Bureau of Prisons custody.

40-year-old 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 one year and four months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy.

47-year-old 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 six years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud conspiracy.

45-year-old Mark Anthony Phillips, of Ruskin, Florida, was sentenced on May 2, 2024, to six years in prison, followed by three 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.

There is no parole in the federal system.