Henry Aragon, a 54-year-old Golden resident, was recently ordered by a judge to repay more than $19 million to the more than 150,000 Americans who were victimized by a massive telemarketing scheme.
Aragon was credited devising and carrying out the operation which targeted people “older and otherwise susceptible to fraud” nationwide.
Sixty people from several companies, from upper management to telemarketer positions, were named in three separate indictments announced by the U.S. Department of Justice four years ago. Those 60 people resided in and carried out the scheme from 14 states and two Canadian provinces.
Six of those indicted, including Aragon, are from Colorado.
“This case represents the largest elder fraud scheme in the nation,” U.S. District of Minnesota Attorney Erica H. MacDonald stated in 2020. Minnesota’s was the central office of the investigations and, subsequently, the prosecutions. “Unfortunately, we live in a world where fraudsters are willing to take advantage of seniors, who are often trusting and polite. It’s my hope that this prosecution is a call for vigilance and caution. Combatting elder fraud and abuse is one of the Justice Department’s top priorities and I applaud our investigative partners for their grit and dedication in tackling, at the systemic level, this widespread fraud.”