SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A money mule who went to a Carlsbad senior’s home to collect $50,000 in cash as part of a transnational scam has been sentenced to one year in jail.
A judge sentenced Los Angeles resident Eric Anthony Olivas, 30, to the time behind bars and two years of probation last month at the Vista courthouse.
Court records show he was charged with three felonies last year after he was arrested at Dale Marsh’s home in Carlsbad.
Marsh, 75, told Team 10 he had been targeted in a scam after getting a text message thanking him for buying products from Norton antivirus.
The senior, who didn’t buy any products, called a 1-800 number listed in the message and soon realized he had $50,000 in extra money in his checking account.
An overseas scammer tricked Marsh, who was unaware the extra cash was from his equity line, when he convinced him to allow a courier to come and pick up the money.
Marsh’s wife had a bad feeling about the situation and called Carlsbad police, who brought in the FBI. The agency quickly set up an undercover sting operation, bringing $50,000 in fake cash with them.
Local seniors lost $108 million to scams: FBI
The San Diego County District Attorney charged Olivas with conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted theft from an elder over $950 and attempt to receive stolen property.
“If that were to have been $50,000, and the police department hadn't been here, it was long gone and we would never have seen it again,” Marsh said.
The FBI told Team 10 in 2024 seniors in San Diego County lost $108 million to elder fraud scams.
Couriers are coming down every week from the LA area to San Diego to make cash pickups from seniors’ homes, Nicole Mondello, an FBI agent assigned to the San Diego Elder Justice Task Force, told Team 10.
She said the money mules can make as much as $1,000 a pickup and are the middlemen who get the stolen cash to criminals overseas.
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello said thankfully in the Marsh case, law enforcement was able to intervene before any money was lost.
“Most of our victims that we encounter have already lost tens of thousands of dollars before they realize they are being scammed and reach out to law enforcement,” he said.
Olivas previously pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit elder fraud.
Victims of scams are asked to report them immediately to local law enforcement and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Team 10 investigative reporter Austin Grabish can be reached at austin.grabish@10news.com
