A Florida con man is heading to the slammer after scamming seniors out of over a million bucks. Jorrel Tyler Jackson, 31, from Seffner, was sentenced to six and a half years prison time for fleecing elderly folks in a high-tech fraud, federal prosecutors said.
The scam started with bogus computer virus alerts that conned victims into calling a phony helpline, leading them to believe they were speaking to representatives from big tech firms, such as Apple or Microsoft. Instead, these calls piped directly to swindlers in India, the U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Michigan reported. In a particularly painful punch, a West Michigan senior was bilked out of a whopping $398,000. Jackson's job was to get hands-on, meet the seniors, and collect the cash directly, funneling it up the fraud food chain.
Five out of the seven charged in connection to the deceit pleaded guilty, with two still facing the court's judgment. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said, "Crimes that exploit seniors can be devastating, depriving victims of their savings, their independence, and their dignity." Totten has made it clear that his office is on a mission to clamp down on criminals preying on elders, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The nefarious net spread wide, tricking victims into handing over their dough by making them believe their bank accounts were compromised or that they were implicated in some shady investigation, according to CBS News Detroit. Victims were duped into mailing cash, wiring money, or buying gift cards and passing the details to the tricksters. The FBI and local Michigan law enforcement cracked the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Clay Stiffler.
To keep the unsuspecting safe, authorities have advised a straight-up approach: never click on strange pop-ups or links in emails, don't download software from randos, and remember, the feds won't call you asking for money. Special Agent Cheyvoryea Gibson weighed in, quoted by the U.S. Department of Justice saying, "We must empower our seniors with knowledge about elder fraud and its various forms to protect them from this intolerable manipulation." For anyone who's been stung by elder fraud, the FBI's got a hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11, and they're urging fast action.
