AARP has been great at tracking down fraudsters, alerting the public and passing on information to the authorities to make sure that they get permanently shut down. Six people have pleaded guilty and two are charged but not yet arrested for taking part in a grandparent fraud operation that stole from more than 70 older Americans. A federal judge called the ringleader Timothy Ingram “heartbreakingly evil.â€Â   He was sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing almost $2 million from grandparents, including 10 people who lost more than $300K. The gang would call the grandparent and pretend to be their grandson or granddaughter and say they were in jail and needed money wired to get them out. U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo said during the sentencing hearing that she hoped tough sentences would warn others against participating in what she said was one of the most harmful she had seen in her 17 years on the bench.
