Canadian Man Sentenced to Prison for Participation in “Grandparent Scam”

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “BURLINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on October 6, 2026, Paul Conneh, 39, of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, was sentenced by United States District Judge William K. Sessions III to serve a 33-month term of imprisonment for his three weeks of participation in the “grandparent scam.” Judge Sessions also ordered him to pay $256,000 in restitution to the victims of the offense. Previously, on May 28, 2026, Conneh pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to launder monetary instruments in connection with the grandparent scam. According to court records, Conneh participated in the grandparent scam by recruiting “bail bondsmen” to travel to the United States, laundering the money they took from elderly Americans, and distributing the money to co-conspirators. Conneh participated in the grandparent scam for three weeks during July and August 2023, victimizing approximately 20 elderly Americans. Conneh was arrested in Costa Rica on January 23, 2025 at the request of the United States, and was extradited to the United States. First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the investigative work of Vermont-based agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Customs and Border Protection, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and recognized the assistance provided by HSI in Panama, Interpol, the United States Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the United States Embassy in Costa Rica, and Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Depar”