RIVERSIDE – (INT) - Two Riverside County men were arrested Thursday on an indictment alleging they participated in an international conspiracy that deceived elderly victims into sending more than $500,000 in cash by pretending to be federal agents threatening them with arrest on bogus warrants.

The federal grand jury indictment unsealed charges three Lake Elsinore residents with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud:

• Anuj Mahendrabhai Patel, 30, a.k.a. “Mike” and “Indio”;
• Elmer Miranda Barrios, 35, whose aliases include “Welbin Raul Mejia” and “Joe Rodriguez”; and
• William Margarito Barrios, 36, Elmer Barrios’s cousin, who faces an additional charge of being an illegal alien who re-entered the United States following deportation.

According to court documents, from April 2019 until March 2020, other members of the conspiracy, some of whom are believed to be in India, telephoned victims and pretended to be government employees or law enforcement officers. Using a number of false pretenses – including phony badge numbers and using spoofed government telephone numbers – the co-conspirators convinced the victims, most of whom were over the age of 55, that their identities or assets were in trouble.

Story Date: October 28, 2020