Charleston, WV (WOAY) – The Justice Department announces expanding its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 new U.S. Attorney’s Offices to support efforts fighting scams outside of the United States.
Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s initiative to combat schemes targeting or disproportionately impacting older adults.
Since September 2021, Justice Department personnel and its partners have pursued over 200 fraud cases for more than 600 defendants.
This past year, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia secured convictions against nine individuals on charges of online scams coercing seniors and other vulnerable victims into sending money.
Five of these individuals pleaded guilty in connection with a romance fraud scheme defrauding more than 200 victims, many of them elderly, of at least $2.5 million.
More information about the Department’s elder justice efforts can be found on the Department’s Elder Justice website, www.elderjustice.gov.
If you or someone you know is 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
