KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An Atlanta man will spend 14 years behind bars after using a fake federal agent persona to scam elderly investors out of nearly $1 million, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
What we know:
Joshua Aaron Holmes, 44, of Atlanta, was sentenced on June 25 to 168 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer. The sentencing follows a federal jury conviction on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that Holmes and his co-conspirators deliberately targeted elderly victims who intended to invest their money.
The fraudsters posed as federal agents and promised to help the victims recover funds previously lost through other investments.
Instead, the victims were tricked into paying fake processing fees, taxes and court costs. None of the victims ever received their money back; they only lost more to the scam.
Following his 14-year prison term, Holmes will be placed on three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay back $936,215.00 in restitution to his victims.
What we don't know:
Federal officials have not yet confirmed the exact number of elderly individuals who were swindled during the multi-year conspiracy.
It also remains unclear over what specific timeframe the fake documents and fraudulent electronic messages were distributed before the FBI intervened.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a federal sentencing press release issued by U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.