Jimmy Ylimaki, who spent more than a year evading authorities in Central America, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in an alleged fraud network that targeted elderly Americans.

A Montreal man accused of participating in a large-scale grandparent scam operation has pleaded guilty in a United States court after being apprehended in Nicaragua earlier this year. Jimmy Ylimaki initially denied a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud but changed his plea during an October 19th hearing. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The case involves an alleged criminal network that prosecutors say collected tens of millions of dollars by deceiving elderly Americans into believing their relatives urgently needed financial assistance.

U.S. prosecutors identified Ylimaki as a closer within the alleged operation, meaning he contacted victims while impersonating a lawyer representing one of their family members. Victims were told that a relative had been arrested and required immediate bail money, often amounting to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Authorities allege that the calls originated from facilities operating in the Montreal area under the direction of Gareth West, the suspected organizer of the network. West also operated what appeared to be a real estate investment business involving properties in Ontario and Quebec. Prosecutors say Ylimaki received more than US$367,000 over a 67-week period for his participation in the alleged conspiracy.

Ylimaki first came to investigators’ attention during police raids targeting suspected fraud call centres around Montreal in June 2024. According to U.S. prosecutor Nathanael Burris, officers arrived at a property owned by West while Ylimaki was actively contacting American seniors. Investigators subsequently discovered him hiding in a downstairs shower. Although the operation did not immediately result in charges, Ylimaki left Canada shortly afterward and travelled to Costa Rica. When authorities arrested approximately two dozen suspected participants in March 2025, both Ylimaki and West remained at large. West was eventually apprehended at a rental property in Saint-Colomban, Quebec, in July 2025.

While living in Central America, Ylimaki reportedly became concerned about the possibility of extradition to the United States. Court filings indicate that he researched Costa Rica’s extradition arrangements before relocating to neighbouring Nicaragua, a country with a history of refusing American extradition requests. Despite the move, U.S. authorities announced in March 2026 that they had apprehended Ylimaki in Nicaragua and transferred him to the United States. Officials have not publicly explained the full circumstances surrounding his detention and removal.

Ylimaki is among 32 individuals accused in connection with the alleged grandparent scam network. The remaining 31 defendants are in Canada and are contesting extradition to the United States. In court filings, prosecutors also noted that members of the alleged conspiracy frequently conducted cryptocurrency transactions, complicating efforts to determine the extent of Ylimaki’s financial resources. His guilty plea marks a significant development in the U.S. prosecution of the alleged operation, while proceedings involving the other accused remain unresolved.

The post Montreal Man Pleads Guilty in Multimillion-Dollar Grandparent Scam Targeting U.S. Seniors appeared first on Canadian Fraud News Inc. | Fraud related news | Fraud in Canada.

Originally published on Canadian Fraud News.