Four People Sentenced to Federal Prison for Defrauding Elderly Victims Throughout the United States

Last week, four people from the Dubuque, Iowa area were sentenced to federal prison for participating in a fraud scheme that targeted more than 250 elderly victims across the United States.  The sentences were imposed in Cedar Rapids by United States District Judge Linda R. Reade.

Evidence at the sentencing hearings and prior court hearings showed that Carlos Rodriguez, Michael Marcov, Stephanie Marcov, and Shawn Vaassen were all involved in a scheme to defraud victims, who were generally elderly, around the country.  All four previously admitted that while they never made calls to victims, other individuals involved in the scheme called victims on the phone and told these victims that a relative was in jail.  The caller would then ask the victims to wire money via Western Union or Money Gram to get the relative released.  They further admitted that the money was being wired to various participants in the fraud who would pick up the wire transfers.  They further admitted that there were participants in and around Dubuque who received wire transfers from the victims and sent the proceeds of the fraud via wire transfer to other participants of the scheme often located in the Dominican Republic  

On December 13, 2017, Carlos Rodriguez, age 38, from Galena, Illinois, was sentenced to 79 months in federal prison after a May 9, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that Rodriguez was a manager of the fraud scheme and had personally recruited numerous individuals in the Dubuque area to participate in the fraud and then directed their actions.  The judge found that Rodriguez was responsible for more than $750,000 in losses to 285 victims.  Rodriguez was ordered to pay $774,584.97 in restitution to the victims.

On December 13, 2017, Michael Marcov, age 26, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after a May 19, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that, after Marcov was recruited by Rodriguez to participate in the scheme, Marcov became a manager of the fraud scheme, recruited others to participate, and directed the actions of those he had recruited.  The judge found that Marcov was responsible for nearly $300,000 in losses to 111 victims.  In sentencing Marcov, the judge noted his extensive criminal history, including prior convictions for theft and domestic abuse.  The judge ordered him to pay $298,314.42 in restitution to the victims.

On December 14, 2017, Stephanie Marcov, age 28, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, who is married to Michael Marcov, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison after a May 19, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud.  At her sentencing hearing, the judge found that Stephanie Marcov was responsible for more than $30,000 in losses to 14 victims.  The judge ordered her to pay $33,879.30 in restitution to the victims.

On December 14, 2017, Shawn Vaassen, age 22, from Asbury, Iowa, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after a March 2, 2017, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and one count of unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun.  At his sentencing hearing, the judge found that Vaassen was recruited by Rodriguez to participate in the scheme and later became a manager of the fraud scheme who recruited others to participate and directed the actions of those he had recruited.  The judge found that Vaassen was responsible for more than $250,000 in losses to 68 victims.  In sentencing him, the judge also noted that Vaassen had unlawfully possessed a sawed-off shotgun in an effort to intimidate some of the individuals he had recruited to participate in the scheme.  On September 23, 2016, Vaassen fired the sawed-off shotgun into the ceiling of a room at the Glenview Motel in Dubuque.  While no one was shot, Vaassen’s discharge of the gun caused one person to lose hearing in an ear and also damaged the motel room.  The judge also ordered Vaassen to pay $177,637.66 in restitution to the victims of the fraud scheme and $303.92 in restitution to the Glenview Motel for the damaged he caused to the hotel room.

All four individuals must also serve a term of supervised release after being released from prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The prosecutions were part of the Elder Justice Initiative of the Department of Justice.  In June 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa was selected as one of 10 districts in the nation to form an Elder Justice Task Force (http://go.usa.gov/cSngj). The task force was assembled to foster a collaborative working relationship among all levels of government officials, advocacy groups for the elderly and the disabled, and others charged with the care and protection for these vulnerable groups. The goals include ensuring the integrity of all government expenditures by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in health programs, and protecting some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens from harm, whether it occurs in nursing homes or other institutions or involves financial fraud schemes. To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative, visit: https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/.

“Every day, elderly Iowans are plagued by fraudulent calls trying to trick them out of money,” said United States Attorney Peter Deegan.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement and other partners to hold accountable those who prey on others’ generosity and concern for their relatives.  This office will also continue to prosecute the most dangerous criminals in our communities, including those like Shawn Vaassen who use firearms and threats of violence to commit their crimes.  I thank the Department of Homeland Security and the Dubuque Police Department for their hard work on this case.” 

Michael Marcov, Rodriguez, and Vaassen are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until each can be transported to a federal prison.  Stephanie Marcov was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Vavricek and Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Investigations and the Dubuque Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file numbers are 17-CR-1001 and 17-CR-1004.

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