A nationwide elder fraud scheme resulted in a 10-year prison sentence for a Florida man. The sentencing was held in New Orleans. On October 25th, a judge sentenced Christopher Keel, who is 53 years old, to 125 months in prison, according to U.S. Attorney Duane Evans.
According to court records, Keel was apprehended in Tangipahoa Parish on April 4, 2022, while trying to scam a 77-year-old woman. As per the records, the woman’s son informed the deputies that his mother had received a call from an individual who claimed to be an agent of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The woman was informed by the fraudulent agents that her bank accounts were involved in fraudulent activities or money laundering. They instructed her to withdraw funds from her accounts and hand it over to them.
According to reports, in March 2022, the woman transferred around $60,000 to individuals who were posing as agents through prepaid credit cards.
On April 3, Keel received advice from the woman to transfer $60,000 to him. Later, they arranged a meeting at a Hammond mall, where she handed over the money to him.
On the following day, the individuals who had pretended to be agents suggested that she take out the remaining funds from her account and hand it over to another agent.
The police were alerted by the woman’s son after her bank had contacted him. Keel was arrested by the deputies after they conducted a sting operation, as per the court documents.
Evans revealed that while conducting an investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations came across another victim who was targeted by Keel and his accomplices. The victim was defrauded of a staggering $300,000.
Detectives discovered a picture of a box with the victim’s name and address on Keel’s phone. This box was used to deliver the money to another fraudulent agent, whom the victim met with in Tukwila, Washington.
During their investigation, HSI agents discovered yet another victim, an 80-year-old woman residing in Bossier Parish. The elderly woman had withdrawn a whopping $36,000 from her account after being duped by individuals masquerading as agents. These impostors had claimed that her accounts had been compromised, leading her to fall prey to their scam.
Before Evans could deliver the money, the police were called and they waited outside her home. During their surveillance, they noticed a car circling nearby before eventually leaving. According to HSI agents, they discovered a link between the car and an individual involved in the fraudulent scheme.
According to Evans, Keel’s phone search uncovered that he had been communicating with other individuals involved in the conspiracy since 2021. Additionally, it was discovered that he had traveled to other states as part of the scheme.
After conducting an investigation, it was discovered that Keel, along with the others involved in the scheme, resulted in 31 victims suffering a loss of approximately $4,498,327 across the country.
After admitting to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Keel was handed a sentence of 125 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Furthermore, he received a sentence of 36 months in prison and a year of supervised release for falsely impersonating an officer or employee of the United States.
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