(CNN) – Three men pleaded guilty to defrauding 14 Rhode Island seniors out of more than $350,000 in what authorities described Tuesday as a “Grandparent Scam.”
“Few things are more frightening than thinking a family member is in trouble,” U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said in a news release. “These defendants exploited that fear to steal from loving grandparents and line their own pockets.”
Bryan Valdez-Espinosa, 22, Diego A. Alarcon, 22, and Jason Hatcher, 40, appeared before a federal judge in Providence and admitted to participating in the scam, Cunha said. –read more–