Elder Fraud in New Mexico

A Caring.com report found that Indiana has the second-highest rate of senior fraud in the nation, with 76.9 complaints per 100,000 residents among people over 60, who collectively lost $4.8 billion to fraud nationally. Indiana experienced a 240% increase in fraud cases against older adults over three years, attributed partly to the state's growing elderly population projected to reach 20.1% by 2030. The report recommends seniors and families guard against pressure tactics, tech support scams (the most common type with over 17,000 cases in 2023), and cryptocurrency fraud schemes.

April Guadalupe Hernandez was indicted by a Bernalillo County grand jury for assuming the identities of licensed nurses and illegally providing hospice care, including mis-transcribing a medication order that nearly resulted in a fatal morphine overdose. Hernandez, a certified nurse assistant, allegedly stole the identities of three nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas to gain employment at three healthcare facilities over 18 months, defrauding them of approximately $40,000. She faces 19 charges including identity theft, nursing without a license, elder abuse, and violations of the Nursing Practice Act, with a potential sentence of up to 27.5 years in prison

A 27-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico was indicted on 19 counts including identity theft, elder abuse, nursing without a license, and Medicaid fraud after assuming the identities of licensed nurses to provide unauthorized hospice care while receiving approximately $40,000 in fraudulent Medicaid payments. The fraud scheme lasted over 18 months across three hospice facilities and resulted in a near-fatal morphine overdose to a patient; Hernandez faces up to 27.5 years in prison if convicted.

April Guadalupe Hernandez was indicted on 19 counts after impersonating nurses to provide care to hospice patients in New Mexico, allegedly stealing approximately $40,000 through fraudulent billing. Operating under a stolen identity, Hernandez mis-transcribed a medication order that nearly resulted in a fatal morphine overdose for one patient, leading to charges including identity theft, unlicensed nursing practice, fraud, and resident abuse.

A 26-year-old certified nurse assistant in New Mexico, April Guadalupe Hernandez, was charged with 19 counts of misconduct including nursing without a license, identity theft, abuse of a resident, and fraud for falsifying nursing credentials and stealing identities of nurses from Texas, California, and Kansas. Over one year, Hernandez worked at three hospice centers using different name variations, claiming to hold higher nursing credentials than she possessed, and made a potentially fatal medication error (an overdose of morphine) that was caught before administration; she has an arraignment scheduled for September 8th.

Andrea Estell Cochran, a 51-year-old from Houston, was arrested and charged with federal bank fraud after using forged passports to impersonate account holders and withdraw approximately $11,000 from multiple banks across Washington state and Maine in 2024. She faces up to 30 years in federal prison plus additional state charges, with a plea deal hearing scheduled for August 28, 2025. A separate study by VPNPro found that seniors aged 60 and older across all U.S. states lost significant sums to fraud in 2022, with losses ranging from approximately $3 million to $31 million per state, highlighting the widesprea

Andrea Estell Cochran, a 51-year-old from Houston, was arrested and charged with federal bank fraud after using fake passports to impersonate account holders and withdraw approximately $11,000 from multiple Washington state banks in 2024, with similar attempts in Maine; she faces up to 30 years in prison and state charges across multiple Washington counties. Additionally, a VPNPro study reveals that seniors aged 60 and over across all U.S. states lost substantial sums to fraud in 2022, with per-victim losses ranging from $13,118 to $30,150 depending on the state, highlighting seniors as prime targets for scammers

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against two operators of a nonprofit afterschool program in Silver City, alleging they submitted over $1.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services never provided and engaged in identity theft using social security numbers of both adults and children. The defendants, Susanne Kee and Bethanne Kee-Medran, face 91 combined counts of fraud and identity theft, with allegations including falsely representing psychological disorders to support the fraudulent billing scheme.

A Wisconsin man nearly fell victim to a sophisticated pop-up scam impersonating Target's account suspension process, which directed him to call a fraudulent number and provide financial information. The incident illustrates the increasing sophistication of fraud schemes; the FTC reported over 6.47 million fraud complaints in 2024 (a 25% increase from 2023), with Americans losing over $12.5 billion, and seniors over 70 experiencing median losses of $1,600. Law enforcement and organizations like AARP warn that scams are becoming more professionally organized—with an estimated 80% originating from crime syndicates outside the United States—and recommend protective measures including credit monitoring

Technical support scams disproportionately affect elderly victims, representing approximately 60% of cases in Pima County, Arizona. A 62-year-old Green Valley man lost $53,000 after responding to a fake Bank of America text directing him to withdraw funds and mail them to Florida; authorities recovered the full amount by intercepting the packages in New Mexico. The Pima County Sheriff's Department reports 260 tech support scams out of 550 total fraud cases this year and advises residents to avoid clicking unsolicited links, never provide banking information to callers, and hang up immediately on suspected scammers before verifying any request directly with their bank.

New Yorkers lost over $540 million to fraud in 2024. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Stop the Scammers Act to restore Consumer Financial Protection Bureau funding that was reduced by a Republican tax bill, and to authorize the CFPB to reward whistleblowers who report financial crimes and fraud targeting seniors.

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Hua Liu, was arrested in July after conducting a multi-state door-to-door scam targeting seniors across Ohio, Indiana, New Mexico, and Tennessee, defrauding victims of an estimated $309,000 total. One Charlestown, Indiana resident was tricked into withdrawing $27,000 from his retirement accounts and handing it over in cash; three additional attempted scams in Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan were prevented by family members, potentially saving another $70,000 in losses. Liu was apprehended at Louisville airport while attempting to flee the country and faces charges including theft, fraud, conspiracy, an

Scammers are targeting senior citizens with phishing emails and texts impersonating the Social Security Administration, using alarming language about suspected criminal activity to pressure victims into clicking malicious links or providing personal information. To protect themselves, seniors should verify sender contact information, avoid clicking unverified links, ignore requests for urgent action or gift cards, use separate email accounts for different purposes, and maintain strong, unique passwords across all accounts.

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Hua Liu, was arrested at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport after police connected him to impersonation scams targeting seniors across multiple states including Indiana, Ohio, New Mexico, and Tennessee. Liu allegedly defrauded victims of approximately $400,000 by posing as a Department of Treasury employee and convincing them to withdraw money from retirement accounts, with one documented victim losing $27,000. Police are continuing to identify additional victims and investigate co-conspirators believed to be in other countries.

A 36-year-old Canadian man, Jia Liu, was arrested on July 2 at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport for defrauding elderly people across multiple states. Liu targeted an elderly man in Charlestown who withdrew $27,000 from his retirement account in May, and investigators linked him to at least five additional victims in Indiana, Ohio, New Mexico, and Tennessee, with total losses exceeding $309,000. Liu faces charges including theft, fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, and authorities are seeking additional victims who may be in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.