Earl D. Roberts Jr.
SAN DIEGO–San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced a rare conviction and sentencing in an inter-state financial elder abuse case where a defendant stole $40,000 from a retired Catholic priest by using a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes scam.
Earl D. Roberts Jr., 31, of South Carolina, was sentenced today to one year in jail and five years of probation by San Diego Superior Court Judge Charles Gill. In September, he pleaded guilty to theft from an elderly person, a felony crime that carries a maximum of four years in local prison. Roberts was also ordered to make restitution payments to his victim.
“Stealing the life savings of a retired priest is a new low and this case should be a warning to seniors that they need to protect themselves,” DA Bonnie Dumanis said. “Our Elder Abuse Unit, led by Deputy DA Paul Greenwood, did an outstanding job tracking down and bringing the scam artist who stole from Father Ortiz to San Diego to face justice. Because of the difficulty of investigating and locating these types of criminals, unfortunately it’s rare that we get a conviction in cases like this.”
The defendant sent a phony letter purportedly from the Publishers Clearing House informing the retired priest – Michael Ortiz, 85, – that he won $1.6 million. The letter went on to say that all Ortiz had to do to collect the winnings was pay the taxes of $40,000 up front. The letter, which included a legitimate-looking sample check, said Mr. Ortiz should respond within 72 hours to an “agent” whose name and phone number were printed on the letter.
After Ortiz contacted the agent listed on the letter, he received a second letter from someone claiming to be his private attorney from Publisher’s Clearing House. Also included was a fake release from the IRS in which Mr. Ortiz was agreeing to pay $40,000 up front rather than have his winnings taxed at the rate of 40 percent. The phony sweepstakes letter went on to say that upon paying the $40,000, Ortiz would receive an activation code to cash his $1.6 million check. By the time he called his contact to ask for the code, the phone number was disconnected.
The victim was given a Wells Fargo account number by the defendant and was told to wire the money from his credit union to that particular account.
DA investigators served a search warrant at the local Wells Fargo branch and Deputy DA Paul Greenwood used a national bank contact to quickly identify the defendant within a matter of days from bank surveillance photos. However, the defendant had provided false information when opening that particular account. DA Investigators, through cooperation of local law enforcement officials in South Carolina, obtained the defendant’s true identity. An arrest warrant was issued and the defendant was eventually arrested in Atlanta in June and then extradited to San Diego.
This case is exceptional in that too often victims of such scams are unwilling to come forward; and even when they do it is rare for a suspect to be identified and then extradited.
“This conviction would not have been possible without the dedication and perseverance shown by our DA investigators” Deputy DA Paul Greenwood said. “Today’s hearing should serve as a reminder to other potential scammers of the elderly that we will use every resource available to track you down and bring you to justice.”
Financial scams are prevalent and many victims continue to fall prey to them. To keep your finances safe from fraudsters, the District Attorney’s Office offers these tips: sweepstakes and overseas lotteries are phony; screen your calls before answering; don’t be afraid to hang up on the perpetrator; don’t let emotions cause you to react immediately to a phone call, letter or email; always check with a professional adviser. When people have been scammed once, their phone numbers and information are sold to other scam artists. Consider changing your phone number to avoid an onslaught of predatory phone calls.
