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A 42-year-old man who is accused of running a $30 million scam targeting elderly Americans has reportedly just been arrested in Canada.
Gareth West was arrested in Quebec on behalf of American authorities and is now facing extradition to the United States to face fraud charges, reports CBC/Radio-Canada.
West is alleged to have posed as a wealthy real estate developer while running a complex “grandparent scam network” that employed more than 20 people and included multiple call centers in the Montreal area.
He faces charges in the US of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
West is alleged to have been the mastermind behind grandparent scammers since at least 2021. The scammers would allegedly phone older Americans, pretend they were their grandchildren who had been arrested or hurt, and say they needed cash right away. Scammers would connect the elderly victims to fake lawyers or bail agents and arrange for cash pickups.
Some 23 of West’s alleged scammer employees were arrested in March.
Police allege that documents they’ve recovered from the suspected scammers show they scammed $30 million during a span of about 67 weeks.
West faces up to 40 years in prison if extradited to the US and convicted of the crimes.
