‘Almost unheard of’: Colombian sentenced in California for fleecing elderly now helping feds
A Colombian man who prosecutors say was part of a fraudulent international sweepstakes scheme that swindled nearly $8 million from elderly Americans was sentenced to 65 months in prison Thursday in Sacramento federal court.
In an unusual move before sentencing, Alexander Franco Gutierrez told U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley that since his 2018 arrest in Colombia he has been helping federal prosecutors investigate a worldwide scam and apologized to the judge and his victims, saying he deserved the punishment he will receive.
“My behavior was wrong, it was shameful, no ifs, ands or buts,” Gutierrez told the judge as he stood next to his attorney, Tom Johnson. “Simply put, there are no excuses for it, and I’m sorry...
“I live every day with the consequences of these mistakes. There’s not a day of my 44 months of incarceration I do not think of what I’ve done. My victims do not deserve to suffer. I do. I think the best way to move forward with my life begins today by accepting your sentence.”
Nunley noted that the scheme fleeced at least 87 elderly victims out of $7,784,415 and emphasized how serious the defendant’s crimes were.
“I hope you can understand how catastrophic this is when it happens to people,” Nunley told Gutierrez. “This is akin to being hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat.”
But the judge said it was “almost unheard of” for a defendant to admit in open court that he is helping the government with similar investigations.
The 65-month sentence came as part of a plea deal fashioned between Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall and Johnson in which Gutierrez, who originally faced a 41-count indictment, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Gutierrez, who could have faced up to 20 years in prison, will receive credit for the 44 months he already has served, including 13 months in a Colombian prison following his arrest.
Prosecutors have said the scheme involved a number of other individuals in the United Kingdom Canada, Cyprus, Singapore, Colombia and Nigeria.
The scammers obtained the names and phone numbers of older Americans, most in Northern California, and called them up using names such as “Stan Peterson” to offer up good news: they’d won the lottery.
There was only one catch, prosecutors say — the winners had to send in some money to pay fees before the lottery winnings were handed over.
Dozens of people fell for the scam between August 2012 and January 2018, court papers say, and the scheme may actually have been going on as early as 1999.
Johnson, who handled the case with attorney Monica Quinlan, noted that once Gutierrez was arrested he waived extradition from Colombia.
“He did go as fast as he could from there to here,” Johnson said.
Nunley ordered Gutierrez, who has dual Canadian citizenship, to pay restitution along with other co-defendants, and said he hoped Gutierrez was being honest about his remorse.
“I really hope that what you’re saying to this court is truthful and that for the rest of your life you try to make amends,” the judge said.
This story was originally published June 9, 2022 at 12:10 PM.