United States v. Jeffrey Robert Bonner et al.

Jeffrey Robert Bonner owned and operated “call centers”, located in San Jose, Costa Rica, which he and his co-defendants used to defraud United States residents, typically over the age of 55, by deceiving them into believing that they had won prizes in a “sweepstakes contest.” The indictment alleges that Jeffrey Robert Bonner, Cody Trevor Burgsteiner, Darra Lee Shephard, and their co-conspirators made calls to victims from Costa Rica. Victims were informed that to receive their “prize,” they were to wire, via Western Union, thousands of dollars for a purported “refundable insurance fee” to a so-called “insurance entity” in Costa Rica. When victims questioned the legitimacy of the operation, they were given phone numbers purportedly to United States government agents who falsely reassured the victims that they had, in fact, won a sweepstakes prize. The co-conspirators then allegedly continued to solicit victims to send more money until their victims’ funds were depleted.