Police, guards ran prison call center extorting millions in Argentina

A sophisticated extortion ring, involving a police officer and correctional staff from Argentina, has been dismantled after defrauding victims of over $40 million in just twenty days. The operation, run from prisons in González Catán and Lomas de Mirador, utilized a "call center" setup within the correctional facilities.

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First, the accused created fake profiles of supposed sexual companions. All these profiles were clandestinely administered by the inmates. When victims made inquiries on the platform, the criminals captured their telephone data and contacted them via calls or WhatsApp messages.

Investigators revealed that the criminals created fake profiles on adult websites, posing as escorts. When potential victims inquired, the fraudsters captured their phone numbers and contacted them via WhatsApp. They then demanded immediate payments, up to $3 million Argentine pesos, falsely claiming victims had bothered the women on the site or incurred debts.

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They simulated being from the site to demand immediate payment of fines of up to $3,000,000 under the false pretext of having bothered the women who appeared on those pages or for having generated debts in the system.

To enhance their threats, the group acquired private databases through Telegram. This allowed them to send victims detailed personal and professional information, which they used to threaten physical harm or public exposure if payments were not made. The investigation, led by prosecutor Juan Marcelo Diomede, identified the lines used for the extortion calls, leading to raids and arrests.

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To break the victims' will, the organization acquired private databases through the Telegram application. With this information, the band members sent victims detailed reports with their personal, work, and family data.

During the operation, 30 suspects were detained, including the police officer and several guards. However, two correctional officers managed to evade capture. Computers and other equipment were found in the prison cells used for the operation. The authorities are still searching for the two fugitive guards.

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They explicitly threatened them with endangering their lives or going to their homes to expose them, if they did not make the transfers or cash deliveries.