Elder Fraud Scam Leads To Guilty Plea For Dunn Loring Man

DUNN LORING, VA — A man who lives in Dunn Loring and Florida pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud Monday in an elder fraud scam, according to federal prosecutors in Maryland.

According to a plea agreement, Michael Odell Anderson, 64, participated in the scheme with others to convince elderly victims to pay thousands of dollars for their loved ones' purported legal expenses. The scheme typically involved co-conspirators pretending to be police officers, lawyers or relatives and claimed the victim's grandchild or other loved one was incarcerated for a car accident or traffic stop crime.

Prosecutors say Anderson and co-conspirators took at least $842,670 from 49 victims in the scheme. The co-conspirators would continue to call victims for more funds, taking tens of thousands from the victims' retirement savings. The callers falsely told victims they would get their money back later.

To conceal the scam, the co-conspirators would typically tell victims a "gag order" was on the case, requiring secrecy.

Anderson joined the scheme in April 2020 and collected money from victims in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and other states. Anderson and co-conspirators used fake names and would travel to victims' homes to collect cash. Prosecutors say Anderson admitted to posing as bail bondsmen or couriers to receive cash from the elderly victims.

Anderson also recruited more co-conspirators, convincing them to give him a percentage of their earnings from the scheme.

Anderson was arrested while trying to collect money at a victim's home. On Dec. 4, 2020, Anderson posed as a bail bondsman to collect $29,000 in cash from the victim in Sykesville, Maryland. The victim had received a call that her nephew had been arrested and needed money for his bail. A follow-up call convinced the victim she needed to pay another $10,000 in cash for bail money. Anderson was arrested when attempting to collect the second payment.

According to prosecutors, $578,170 of the $842,670 taken from victims has not been returned to victims. Anderson will be ordered to pay restitution up to the $578,170 and forfeit any property resulting from the scheme. That includes $70,327 that was seized from Anderson’s home in December 2020.