A 44-year-old Canadian man who played a key role in collecting millions of dollars from elderly scam victims across the U.S. has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison. 

Stefano Zanetti was part of a grandparent scam network that operated out of Canada, according to U.S. prosecutors. 

Most members of the network, which allegedly included 25 other people including Gareth West, who presented himself as a successful real estate developer, are currently facing charges and awaiting extradition to the U.S.

Zanetti was arrested in Panama and extradited to the U.S. He was accused of running the U.S. side of the network — coordinating money pickups from victims. 

Last year, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Several of the people employed by Zanetti as money collectors were also arrested and sentenced to prison terms. 

They worked in three-man teams, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, which prosecuted Zanetti. Two of his “crews” were arrested, once in Sept. 2021 and again in February 2022 when they travelled to Pittsburgh to collect money from victims. 

Zanetti — who was allegedly in contact with West — coordinated the money collectors. 

According to information in provisional arrest warrants filed in Canada in connection with the case, the network would target victims in different states and cities from week to week in order to prevent law enforcement from tracking them. 

Those involved in the alleged scam at Montreal call centres would telephone prospective victims pretending to be a grandchild in legal trouble. Another alleged scammer, pretending to be a police officer or lawyer, would then convince the victim to provide bail money to a bail bondsman — then, one of the men overseen by Zanetti would go to their home and collect cash. 

While he was incarcerated and before he pled guilty, U.S. investigators say Zanetti told a cellmate that he was in touch with people back in Canada who were “trying to buy his silence for $2 million.”

Zanetti’s sentence also includes a $35,000 US fine and restitution of $780,870 US. 

The charges against the 25 other people accused of participating in the scam, including West, have not been tested in court. 

Most of them are still awaiting extradition proceedings, which are ongoing. The U.S. is requesting that they be extradited to stand trial in Vermont. 

One of them, Jimmy Ylimaki, was arrested in Nicaragua and brought to the U.S.

WATCH | How CBC tracked the movements of 2 men arrested in connection with the scam::

Tracking a Montrealer with alleged ties to a grandparent scam on the run in Central America

Jimmy Ylimaki had been on the run for more than a year before he was tracked down and arrested in Nicaragua. He was wanted in connection with a multimillion-dollar grandparent scam targeting American seniors.

“Zanetti and his co-conspirators inflicted severe financial and emotional injury upon numerous elderly victims and their families through this scheme,” said United States Attorney Troy Rivetti in a statement. 

“This prosecution and the sentence imposed confirm that the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will use all of the resources at our disposal to investigate, identify, and bring to justice those who prey upon vulnerable members of our community, whether these predators are located in the United States or abroad.”