Roger Roger, a 40-year-old Costa Rican citizen, was convicted by a federal jury in North Carolina for orchestrating a years-long telemarketing scheme that defrauded victims in the United States.
According to documents presented during the trial, Roger primarily targeted senior citizens from a call center located in Costa Rica. He led a telemarketing scheme in which co-conspirators, falsely posing as U.S. government officials, contacted victims in the United States, claiming they had won a “sweepstakes” prize.
The criminals convinced the victims that they had won major prizes and then informed them that they needed to make several payments to receive the prize. These payments were purportedly for taxes, customs duties, and other fees.
They used various methods to conceal their identities and mislead the victims into believing they were U.S. officials. Voice over Internet Protocol technology allowed them to make calls as though they were located in Washington, D.C., and other U.S. states.
As reported by authorities, Roger used fake names and documents, calling victims from Costa Rica to convince them they were prize winners. He also recruited individuals to participate in the scheme, training them to mislead victims and facilitate the transfer of payments made from the U.S. to Costa Rica.
U.S. investigators determined that Roger and his criminal group stole more than $4 million from their victims. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Costa Rica to secure Roger’s arrest and extradition.
Roger was officially convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of international money laundering.
He faces a maximum 25-year sentence for each of the conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and wire fraud counts. The jury determined that these counts involved telemarketing targeting at least 10 victims over the age of 55, which contributed to the severity of the punishment. He also faces 20 years in prison for each of the conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering counts.
A federal district court judge will later proceed with the corresponding sentencing, after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
