By james art 
PROVIDENCE — Two men are accused of being couriers in lucrative “grandparenting” scams targeting people in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and nine other states.
Roberto Munoz, 29, of Hialeah, Florida, and Jason Rhodes, 34, of Flushing, New York, face federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced Monday.
Warwick police arrested the two in March after local residents reported they gave thousands of dollars to people who convinced them their grandchildren were in trouble and needed help. The U.S. Attorney’s Office now alleges that as couriers, Munoz and Rhodes collected about $230,000 from victims in more than a dozen communities in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
People running so-called “grandparent scams” often pose as relatives, lawyers or police officers who call victims and convince them that a relative, usually a grandchild, has been arrested and needs bail money. Scammers will direct victims to give cash to a courier who either comes to their home or meets them at a drop-off location.
Couriers usually work in a specific geographic area where other people involved in the schemes will give them information and instructions about the victims they meet.
In early March, Warwick police received three complaints in one week from people who had been contacted by scammers – and their investigation led them to arrest Munoz and Rhodes.
A Warwick couple told police they gave $18,000 to a courier to cover what they were told was bail for their grandson, but were then contacted again and told their grandson was on trial for $100,000, so now they must pay $40,000, according to the US Attorney’s Office. The couple went to the police, who set up surveillance inside and outside the home while they waited for the courier to arrive. Rhodes was arrested at the house when he arrived to collect the money, according to the U.S. Attorneys office, while Munoz was arrested while sitting in a vehicle waiting for Rhodes.
Authorities searched the vehicle and a hotel room registered to Rhodes and seized more than $60,000 and other items. Ultimately, Warwick police and Homeland Security investigations determined the two men obtained the names and addresses of grandparent scam victims in Coventry, Newport, Cranston, Hopkinton, East Greenwich, West Greenwich and Smithfield, all in Rhode Island , and in Braintree, Hanover, Plymouth, Scituate, Cohasset, Stoughton, and Lakeville, Massachusetts, and in Stanhope, Iowa.
A device allegedly seized from Rhodes contained chat messages from Munoz that appeared to contain names and addresses of the intended victims and their grandchildren in Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, North Carolina and New Jersey, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Munoz and Rhodes appeared before a federal magistrate Friday and were released on unsecured bail and GPS electronic monitoring.
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.