A California telemarketing scammer is facing over 10 years in prison for defrauding thousands of immigrants, according to The Department of Justice.
Angel Armando Adrianzen, 46, worked with Peruvian call centers that contacted recent immigrants to the U.S. with fraudulent legal claims.
The callers falsely told consumers that they were lawyers or government representatives. Victims were told they had not paid for products that were delivered to them and were threatened with court proceedings, imprisonment, deportation, or other consequences if they failed to pay for the items and settlement fees, according to the DOJ.
Many of the victims fell for the scam and made payments. Adrianzen provided the call centers with a list of consumers to call and scripts to use. He collected over $3,500,000 from the victims, according to the DOJ. (RELATED: 60 Charged In Scam That Took $300 Million From Elderly Victims)
California Resident Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Facilitating Telemarketing Conspiracy that Defrauded Thousands of Vulnerable U.S. Consumershttps://t.co/MdeLtx4Rao
— Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) May 21, 2021
Adrianzen pleaded guilty and admitted to owning and operating AAD Learning Center (AAD) from 2011 to 2019. AAD ran the telemarketing scam that offered products to Spanish-speakers to steal money from them, according to the DOJ.
“In this international telemarketing scheme, deceptive scare tactics were used to threaten thousands of vulnerable U.S. consumers into purchasing undelivered products by falsely purporting to use America’s legal system against them and coercing them out of millions of dollars,” said Inspector in Charge Joseph Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, according to the DOJ. “Today’s sentencing hopefully brings relief to U.S. residents and immigrants who were victimized by this transnational fraudulent scheme.”
Adrianzen was sentenced to 121 months in prison and fifteen years of supervision after release. He must also repay the victims, the DOJ reported.
