The Chilean man who acted as a money collector on behalf of a criminal enterprise he claims to know nothing about has been sentenced to 270 days in jail for his part in scams carried out across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Luis Luciano David Cortez appeared in a Charlottetown courtroom by video link from P.E.I.’s Provincial Correctional Centre on Friday afternoon alongside his lawyer, who appeared virtually from Montreal.
Cortez was facing more than a dozen charges for his part in the scheme that played out in Miramichi and Campbellton, N.B., and Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud over $5,000 — involving one occurrence in Miramichi and another in Charlottetown.
The Crown stayed the rest of the charges, but the document listing agreed facts in the case that was read out in court included details from the other charges, which the Crown asked Judge Jeff Lantz to consider in his sentence.
The court heard that Cortez and his girlfriend flew to Montreal in early August 2024, entering Canada on a tourist visa.
Their whereabouts in the early part of the month are unknown, but by Aug. 19, Cortez was playing the role of the bail bondsman in a so-called “grandparents scam.”
‘Somewhat scary’ scam
Victims would receive a call from a person informing them that a loved one — often a grandchild, but sometimes a nephew, sibling or friend — was in jail after getting into trouble with the law.
At least one victim was told the crime involved drugs, but other storylines included an accident that had left a pregnant woman injured.
Victims were sometimes allowed to speak on the phone with a person whose voice sounded like their loved one, a detail Lantz called “somewhat scary.”
Police in other jurisdictions have warned Canadians that scam callers are using artificial intelligence software to do this, and that social media posts are giving fraudsters the raw materials to make such ruses more realistic.
He was surely not aware of the bigger scheme and the particulars that are shocking.— Marc-Antoine Rock, Cortez’s lawyer
The victims were told they needed to hand over money to get their loved one out of jail, and a bail bondsman would come to collect the cash.
Many of the victims identified Cortez as the person who arrived and silently departed with the money.
This worked until a victim in Charlottetown grew suspicious and called police. Officers were waiting for Cortez when he arrived at the person’s home to collect the promised cash.
Police then picked up Cortez’s girlfriend at a motel in Borden-Carleton, where she was holding their passports and $5,000 in cash. She has since been deported back to Chile, having served her time for her role in the scam.
Lawyer says client ashamed
On Friday, Cortez sat silently through his sentencing, which had been delayed several times so that similar charges from New Brunswick could be transferred to Charlottetown.
Police charged two people with fraud this week after receiving a complaint from a Charlottetown family about a possible ‘grandparent scam’ case. CBC’s Laura Meader spoke with the city’s police chief, Brad MacConnell, about how the arrests went down and what people can do to avoid falling victim to such a plot.
Defense lawyer Marc-Antoine Rock said his client does not speak English, but assured the court he had explained everything in Spanish to Cortez, who told him he was remorseful for his actions.
The lawyer said Cortez knows very little about the scam and the people who provided him with instructions, adding that he knew “there was something wrong, but he was surely not aware of the bigger scheme and the particulars that are shocking, obviously.”
Rock added that Cortez has no criminal record anywhere, and had worked as a forest firefighter in Chile and hopes to return to that employment.
‘Organized crime’ behind plot?
Both Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald and Lantz said it seemed like a “criminal enterprise” was behind the plot.
“We’re not sure who actually benefitted from this scheme. It sounds like organized crime,” the judge told the court.
Lantz accepted the defense and Crown’s joint recommendation of 270 days in jail for Cortez’s part in the scam, but because Cortez has been in jail voluntarily since his arrest in August, he has only about three weeks left on that nine-month sentence.
The Canada Border Services Agency will send him back to Chile after his release, something the Crown said was in Canada’s best interest.
Cortez was also ordered to repay all the money he took from victims across the two provinces, amounting to $56,800. However, the Crown said the defrauded victims had only a “faint hope” of collecting what they were owed.
