Federal prosecutors in Boston unsealed a superseding indictment charging 13 citizens of the Dominican Republic with running a transnational “grandparent” scam that extracted more than $5 million from roughly 400 older Americans. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley and FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said the scheme preyed on seniors in Massachusetts, California, New York, Florida and Maryland by posing as grandchildren in urgent legal or medical trouble. Investigators allege the defendants operated an English-language call center in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Callers—dubbed “openers”—would telephone victims, claiming to be a grandchild who had just been arrested or injured. “Closers” then posed as lawyers or police, directing victims to hand cash to couriers or ship it to designated addresses. Many victims, whose average age was 84, were contacted repeatedly for additional payments. Authorities said the ring relied on U.S.-based “runners” and unsuspecting rideshare drivers to collect the money, which was then laundered back to the Dominican Republic. The two-year investigation began after Uber’s security team alerted the FBI that its drivers were being used to transport packages of cash. Nine defendants, including alleged ringleader Oscar Manuel Castanos Garcia, 33, have been arrested; four others are still at large in New York, New Jersey and Florida. Twelve defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy, each carrying potential sentences of up to 20 years. One defendant is charged solely with money-laundering conspiracy. Prosecutors urged anyone who believes they were targeted to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or file a complaint through the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.