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A Montreal man wanted for more than a year in connection with a massive grandparent scam has been arrested in Nicaragua.
Jimmy Ylimaki, 36, was apprehended in Nicaragua and removed to the U.S., according to a press release from the Vermont district attorney.
Ylimaki is facing up to 20 years in prison for his alleged role in the scam. He is described in court documents as having operated as an “attorney,” pretending to be a lawyer requesting money from potential elderly victims.
The scam network Ylimaki is alleged to be a part of operated out of Montreal, according to police. It allegedly scammed hundreds of victims, mostly American seniors, out of $30 million.
The alleged head of the network, Gareth West, posed as a real estate mogul. He was the subject of a CBC investigation in June 2025.
When charges were first laid against the group last March, police arrested two dozen people in the Montreal area, but West and Ylimaki evaded arrest.
West was arrested at an Airbnb in Saint-Colomban, Que., in July 2025.
Ylimaki was the only member of the alleged group of scammers who was still at large.
In the summer of 2025, a source with knowledge of Ylimaki’s movements told CBC that he was living in a coastal city in Costa Rica, a place where, before he was charged, he had featured in social media posts.
After West was arrested, the source said Ylimaki left Costa Rica and travelled to Nicaragua.
Gareth West lived a life of luxury. He said he made his money from buying and selling real estate in Montreal and southern Ontario. Now, he’s been charged with orchestrating a $30-million scam network.
Grandparent scams target the elderly. They involve groups of scammers who call seniors, acting as their grandchildren, feigning legal trouble and asking for money. They can be elaborate, as they are alleged to be in this case, with multiple people playing different roles, acting as lawyers, judges or police officers to make the scam appear more legitimate.
As the police investigation into the alleged grandparent scam intensified, officers raided a home on Harwood Street in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., in June 2024 — suspected of being used as the headquarters of the scam group. They found Ylimaki in an office, where, moments before police entered, he had been placing calls to potential victims, according to the U.S. district attorney for Vermont.
In documents filed in connection with the case at the Montreal courthouse, Quebec provincial police say Ylimaki used the codename “Coop” and had mutliple cellphones.
They also say that Ylimaki’s text messages show how he celebrated successful “victim deals.”
In one example listed in the documents, the provincial police say Ylimaki texted a co-conspirator a text message with the name and address of a victim in New Jersey. The message said “$19,000 with toast, home with cash,” ostensibly using code names to refer to other alleged scam participants.
It is just one of many “victim deals” that Ylimaki is alleged to have participated in.
Ylimaki is now being held in the U.S. The other alleged members of the scam are currently contesting their extradition to the U.S. Extradition proceedings are ongoing.
The allegations against Ylimaki have not yet been tested in court. He appeared in a U.S. court in Vermont on Wednesday and entered a plea of not guilty.
