Federico Hernandez Gamboa, Along With Other Members of the Fraud Scheme, Impersonated Federal Government Officials to Induce Elderly Victims to Pay Approximately $4.3 Million
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging FEDERICO HERNANDEZ GAMBOA with conspiring to commit wire fraud, conspiring to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud elderly victims by convincing them that they had won millions of dollars in a sweepstakes lottery that could only be collected after they paid millions of dollars’ worth of supposed taxes and fees. GAMBOA was arrested on February 10, 2024, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. He will be presented before the Honorable Dena Hanovice Palermo in the Southern District of Texas.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Federico Hernandez Gamboa defrauded numerous elderly victims who were lured into thinking that they had won life-changing prizes in a sweepstakes lottery, of millions of dollars. By allegedly impersonating high-ranking federal government officials, Gamboa and others convinced victims that they had to pay supposed taxes and fees in order to claim their sweepstakes winnings. Scammers who target vulnerable elderly men and women to line their own pockets, take note – you will be held accountable.”
As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:[1]
From at least August 2020 through at least May 2023, GAMBOA and others contacted elderly victims while claiming to be high-ranking federal government officials, including the Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Deputy Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and others, to convince victims that they had won large cash prizes as part of a sweepstakes lottery. GAMBOA and others induced the victims to wire millions of dollars in supposed taxes and fees associated with their sweepstakes winnings to bank accounts controlled by members of the fraud scheme. GAMBOA and others then wired most of the money to bank accounts in Costa Rica.
Members of the fraud scheme also induced victims to send their personal identifying information, which GAMBOA and others used to create fake identification cards. They also forged victims’ names on loan agreements that they submitted to financial institutions in order to persuade those institutions that the fraudulently obtained funds belonged to them.
The victims collectively sent approximately $4.3 million in fraud proceeds to bank accounts controlled by members of the fraud scheme, approximately $664,000 of which was sent directly to bank accounts controlled by GAMBOA.
GAMBOA, 51, of San Jose, Costa Rica, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory prison term of two years that must run consecutively to any other prison term.
The maximum and mandatory potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the exceptional investigative work of the Special Agents and Analysts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and thanked the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their assistance with the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda C. Weingarten is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
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