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Alvarez
After pleading guilty to two counts of money laundering Monday, Dec. 6, a 65-year-old Beaumonter received a four-year sentence and was ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution after defrauding businesses and a church for more than $100,000.
According to a probable cause affidavit penned by JSCO Detective Jeffery Chadney, between June 22 and July 1 2019, Reuben Alvarez Sr. did knowingly – and fraudulently – receive approximately $105,000 from numerous people across the country, according to the indictment. The alleged thief withdrew the money by purchasing gift cards, cashier’s checks and wire transfers.
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Ross Bridge, Alabama, was invoiced $17,640 for “consulting” work Alvarez allegedly performed. Golf Trail CFO Stevan Williams advised it was his belief his company fell victim to an email scheme benefitting Alvarez’s bank account, wherein a fictitious interoffice email secured funding not due and owing.
“According to an affidavit from Willams,” Chadney offered, “Alvarez had never done any contracting work for them and that they had sent him a check overnight delivery based on the fraudulent request for payment.”
The United Methodist Church was victimized as well, according to data Chadney was able to collect from Alvarez’s cell phone and police reports from Nashville, Tennessee. Chadney found evidence of a $39,375 check fraudulently obtained from the church, and another check for $29,580 reported through the Nashville police.
Also among the conman’s myriad facades was a Florida-based model half his age, according to information from Detective Chadney. According to an affidavit prepared by a banker suspicious of Alvarez’s actions, Alvarez told the credit union he was receiving money from the inheritance of a Peggy Smith in Washington. And that the money was going from Smith to Alvarez for him to pay an attorney, John Hesse, for a divorce. Alvarez then changed the story to say that the money was going to Hesse for his assistance in selling property in Kansas. Alvarez’s evidence was a text message from Smith.
Hesse told the detective he had never met Alvarez before, but, to his knowledge, was exchanging funds with a Beaumont woman working as a model in Tampa, Florida. According to Hesse, he agreed to receive the model’s “back wages” owed to her by Alvarez. Hesse was instructed to transfer the money into an electronic currency called Bitcoin and return the money to the fake actress’ Bitcoin wallet.
Chadney explained to Hesse that he was the victim of a romance scam and advised him to change his account numbers to thwart further criminal activity. Hesse agreed to complete an affidavit and surrender a copy of documents to support his story.
The only legitimate sources of income detectives found on Alvarez’s accounts were from his monthly Social Security Benefits at $1,656 and retirement benefits at $825.15.