By james art 
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced that men have been indicted in federal court for their alleged role as “couriers” in grandparent scams targeting seniors in multiple states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Roberto Munoz, 29, of Hialeah, Florida, and Jason Rhodes, 34, of Flushing, New York, were charged in a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Munoz and Rhodes were arrested by Warwick police on March 8 as detectives investigated the third complaint they received in a week from area residents claiming they had been contacted or fallen victim to scams.
Officials said that after one group of grandparent victims had already handed over $18,000 to a courier to cover what they were told was bail for their grandson, the grandparents were contacted again and told that their grandson is now being sued for $100,000 and that an immediate payment of $40,000 is required.
Officials said the grandparents contacted the Warwick Police Department, realizing it was a hoax, which set up surveillance inside and outside the grandparents’ home while they waited for the courier to return.
Rhodes was arrested at the house when he allegedly arrived to collect the money, and Munoz was arrested while sitting in a car near the home waiting for Rhodes.
Police seized more than $60,000 in cash and other items from the hotel room and the car.
A subsequent investigation by Warwick Police and Homeland Security Investigations found that the defendants were allegedly provided with the names and addresses of grandparent fraud victims in Coventry, Newport, Cranston, Hopkinton, West Greenwich, East Greenwich and Smithfield , Rhode Island; in Stanhope, IA; and in Braintree, Hanover, Plymouth, Scituate, Cohasset, Stoughton and Lakeville, Massachusetts.
A device allegedly seized from Rhodes at the time of his arrest contained chat messages sent to him by Munoz that appeared to contain names and addresses of the targeted victims and their grandchildren in Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland , Tennessee, Iowa, North Carolina and New Jersey.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing, but based on local police reports, many families in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are believed to have been victims.