Costa Rica Sweepstakes Call Center: VOIP-Spoofed Government Impersonation Bilks Hundreds of Elderly Victims of $4M+

What happened

A Costa Rica-based call-center leader ran a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that, over a period of years (indictment unsealed October 2, 2018), defrauded hundreds of victims across the United States, most of them elderly, out of more than $4 million. Co-conspirators impersonated U.S. government officials over the phone, falsely telling victims they had won a substantial sweepstakes prize, then demanded a series of up-front payments (framed as taxes, customs duties, and fees) before victims could supposedly collect. Calls were routed through VOIP technology to spoof caller ID so they appeared to originate from Washington, D.C. and other U.S. locations, concealing the Costa Rica origin. The lead defendant was arrested and extradited from Costa Rica in February 2023. A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina convicted the lead defendant on September 20, 2024 on fraud and international money-laundering conspiracy charges. The lead defendant was sentenced on July 15, 2025 to more than 15 years in prison, with more than $3.3 million in restitution and more than $4.2 million in forfeiture ordered.

How it worked

The lead defendant operated a telemarketing fraud call center in Costa Rica. Co-conspirators falsely posed as U.S. government officials and called victims in the U.S. to tell them they had won a substantial "sweepstakes" prize. To conceal their true identities and location, the conspirators used Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology to spoof caller ID so calls appeared to originate from Washington, D.C. and other U.S. locations rather than Costa Rica. The lead defendant personally called victims using fake names and fabricated documents to reinforce the sweepstakes-winner pretext. After convincing victims, many of them elderly, that they stood to receive a large financial reward, the callers told victims they first had to make a series of up-front payments, characterized as taxes, customs duties, insurance, and other fees, before the "prize" could be released. Once a victim paid, conspirators (acting as "loaders") would re-contact them claiming a problem had arisen or the prize was even larger, prompting additional rounds of payment. Payments were extracted via wire transfers, Western Union/MoneyGram transfers, and blank money orders shipped by courier; some victims who refused to send funds directly overseas were directed to send money to U.S.-based co-conspirators who then forwarded the money to Costa Rica. The lead defendant recruited and trained other co-conspirators to run this script and to move victim payments from the U.S. to Costa Rica. No prize ever existed.

The lure and the tell

Lure: an unsolicited phone call from someone claiming to be a U.S. government official informing the victim they had won a substantial cash "sweepstakes" prize, using a spoofed VOIP caller ID displaying a Washington, D.C. (or other U.S.) number, plus fake names and fabricated official-looking documents, to make the claim of government authority credible. Tell (fraud escalation): after an initial upfront payment (framed as taxes, customs duties, fees, or insurance) was sent, "loaders" would call back saying a mistake occurred or the prize was actually larger, demanding further payments, a repeating cycle designed to keep victims paying rather than realizing no prize existed.

Outcome

The lead defendant, 40, was convicted by a federal jury on September 20, 2024 of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering, and two counts of international money laundering. Because the jury found the telemarketing scheme victimized at least 10 people over age 55, the lead defendant faced enhanced maximum penalties (25 years per fraud/conspiracy-to-fraud count, 20 years per money laundering count). On July 15, 2025, the lead defendant, then 41, was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.3 million in restitution and forfeit more than $4.2 million. The lead defendant had been arrested and extradited from Costa Rica in February 2023 with assistance from DOJ's Office of International Affairs and Costa Rican law enforcement. Six other individuals were named as co-defendants in the underlying indictment for roles including U.S.-based fund collection/forwarding ("runners") and phone solicitation ("openers"/"loaders"); one co-defendant was convicted at trial, one pleaded guilty, and two were sentenced.

Why it matters

This case is a documented, DOJ-prosecuted example of how caller-ID spoofing via commodity VOIP technology can manufacture the appearance of government authority (a Washington D.C. area code) to lend false legitimacy to an advance-fee fraud at scale: hundreds of victims, over $4 million stolen, across a years-long operation before law enforcement made an arrest. It illustrates that (1) caller ID is not a trust signal once VOIP spoofing is in play, (2) legitimate government agencies and legitimate sweepstakes never require upfront payment to release winnings, and (3) elderly victims were deliberately targeted and re-victimized through repeated "loader" calls demanding additional fees, a pattern DOJ's elder-fraud enforcement and hotline infrastructure now explicitly targets. It's a clean pretexting case study distinct from BEC/vendor-fraud incidents: pure voice-channel authority impersonation with no email or corporate-network component.

Defenses

DOJ/USPIS/IRS-CI/FBI cross-border investigation with Costa Rican law enforcement and DOJ's Office of International Affairs secured Roger's February 2023 extradition; case built via years-long evidence gathering culminating in jury trial (not caught pre-loss; this is a law-enforcement takedown, not a technical control). For consumers/families: the case underpins DOJ's standing guidance: government agencies never demand upfront "taxes," "customs duties," or "fees" via wire transfer/money order/gift cards to release a prize; caller-ID showing a Washington D.C. or U.S. number is not proof of legitimacy since VOIP lets callers spoof any number; unsolicited sweepstakes/lottery notifications by phone are categorically fraudulent since legitimate sweepstakes do not require advance payment. DOJ's National Elder Fraud Hotline (1-833-FRAUD-11) is cited in both releases as the reporting/support channel for victims aged 60+.