Second Suspect in Phone Scam Over $560,000 Convicted in Maldonado

A 22-year-old woman has been convicted for her involvement in a sophisticated telephone scam that defrauded a man of more than $567,000 Uruguayan pesos and US$7,948. The woman received a 12-month prison sentence, which was converted to a probation period, including three months of night-time house arrest.

The investigation, led by the Maldonado Police Department's Fraud Division, identified two individuals responsible for the scheme: a 33-year-old man and the 22-year-old woman, neither of whom had previous criminal records. The victim reported receiving a call on May 7 from individuals posing as bank employees. Through deception, they convinced the victim to make several transfers totaling 92,000 pesos and US$7,948.

Further fraudulent activity included 25 separate transactions of 19,000 pesos each, withdrawn from the victim's account. This brought the total economic loss to 567,000 pesos, in addition to the stolen dollars. The Prosecutor's Office requested the apprehension of the suspects.

The male suspect was arrested on June 9 in Paysandú during a police patrol and subsequently transferred to Maldonado. A court ordered his formalization for fraud as a co-author and imposed 90 days of total house arrest as a precautionary measure while the investigation continues. The woman voluntarily presented herself at a police station in Montevideo on July 10 for an administrative procedure, where officers discovered an outstanding warrant for her in connection with this case. She was then arrested and taken to Maldonado.