Las Vegas woman sentenced in $9M mail fraud scheme
A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Wednesday to three years in a federal prison for her role in a mass mailing scheme that authorities say bilked “hundreds of thousands of victims” out of more than $9 million.
In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro sentenced the woman, 50-year-old Andrea Burrow, to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $272,000.
Burrow, who was among six Las Vegas residents federally indicted in 2019 in connection with the scheme, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is the first to be sentenced in the case, according to the state U.S. attorney’s office.
“Our office will continue our efforts to dismantle schemes like this one, preying on the vulnerable and elderly,” Nevada U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich said in a statement Wednesday. “Whether they are operating in Nevada or elsewhere in the country, fraudsters will be apprehended and will face stiff consequences for their callous actions.”
According to the statement, the scheme had largely targeted the “elderly and vulnerable” from 2010 to February 2018 with fraudulent prize notices that led victims to believe they could claim large cash prizes after paying a fee between $20 and $30. Authorities have said the Department of Justice, through a court order, shut down the operation after postal inspectors executed multiple search warrants.
A trial for the remaining defendants — identified as Mario Castro, Jose Salud Castro, Salvador Castro, Miguel Castro and Jose Luis Mendez — is set to begin in June. They are charged with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
If you or someone you know is 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, resources can be found by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.