A resident of Lima, Peru, was extradited to the United States on Monday to face charges for his involvement in a large-scale fraud operation that targeted victims across the U.S. David Cornejo Fernandez, 36, was arrested in May by Peruvian authorities at the request of U.S. law enforcement. He appeared in a Miami federal court today, where he was formally charged with wire fraud, extortion, and conspiracy.
Cornejo is accused of providing technology to multiple Peruvian call centers that defrauded Spanish-speaking individuals in the U.S. between 2012 and 2019. According to the indictment, Cornejo supplied Internet-based phone lines, caller-ID spoofing services, and pre-recorded messages to facilitate fraudulent calls. These calls falsely claimed victims had won prizes, such as a tablet with an English language course, but were then told they had to make large payments to receive their rewards.
The callers, who impersonated government officials such as attorneys, court officers, and police, used threatening tactics to coerce payments. Victims were told they would face arrest or harm to their immigration status if they didn’t comply. Cornejo allegedly trained his co-conspirators on how to use the technology and provided them with recordings from U.S. federal agencies, including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to make the calls appear legitimate.
The Justice Department and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) worked closely with Peruvian authorities to extradite Cornejo, marking a significant international cooperation in the fight against transnational fraud. “The long arm of the American justice system has no limits when it comes to reaching fraudsters who prey on our nation’s most vulnerable populations,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida.
Cornejo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His case has been brought forward in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where it is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
The investigation was a joint effort by the USPIS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and Peruvian law enforcement agencies. The case serves as a reminder of the ongoing global efforts to combat fraud and protect U.S. consumers from transnational crime.
