Two Sentenced in North Carolina in Elder Fraud Scam

RALEIGH—Two Canadian citizens were sentenced in U.S. federal court today for targeting the elderly in a fraud scam, announced Thomas G. Walker, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Clayton Atkinson, 33, was sentenced to 151 months in prison followed by five years’ supervised release. David Stewart, 62, was sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by three years’ supervised release. The court also ordered the defendant to pay restitution of $840,705.

On March 5, 2008, a federal grand jury returned a criminal indictment. On August 3, 2011, and September 20, 2011, respectively, Stewart and Atkinson each pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud.

According to the investigation, from December 2004 to April 2007, the defendants, operating in and around the Montreal, Canada-area, devised a scheme in which they called elderly U.S. citizens, falsely telling them they had won a large prize in a sweepstakes or lottery. The defendants then convinced the victims to send money in order to receive their prize.

The victims were identified from a lead list that Atkinson, the leader, purchased from a Montreal business. Atkinson desired victims that had ready sources of money, availability during the day to answer the phone, and vulnerability due to infirmities of age. Pre-paid cellular phones were obtained under false names to contact the victims. When a victim answered the phone, fictitious names, titles, and company names were used.

“The determination and dedication of the FBI, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and my office, assisted by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, has made it possible to bring to justice these defendants who preyed upon the elderly,” said U.S. Attorney Walker.

“This case is a good example of cooperation between law enforcement officials in two neighboring countries,” said Staff Sergeant Yves Leblanc of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Criminals in our two countries used to take advantage of being across a border from the victims; this is no longer the case.”

“In these desperate times, people take unusual financial risks. These men profited from that vulnerability until the FBI and our law enforcement partners tracked them across the border to Canada and brought justice to the victims in North Carolina,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI.

The investigation determined that at least 39 victims in various states, including North Carolina, had been defrauded and the defendants had fraudulently obtained at least $840,705.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the FBI; the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Elder Fraud Unit; and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney J Gaston B. Williams prosecuted the case.