ACFE-Heartland
Chapter
Luncheon
Meeting
"The
Travelers"
Tuesday,
January 10th, 2006
Regency Lodge
Our speaker this month was Mr.
Russ Mayer, assistant U.S. attorney with the Department of Justice for the
District of Nebraska. Mr. Mayer is a
career prosecutor. He has been with the
Department of Justice for 20 years, serving in the criminal division both in
Las Vegas and Omaha. He also spent five
years in the Suffolk County NY District Attorney's Office assigned to the
rackets and trial bureaus.
Mr. Mayer gave a fascinating
presentation on a group of criminals known as "the travelers". "The travelers" constitute one of the
largest groups of organized con artists in the country. Most of the members of this group live in
the eastern United States.
The travelers primarily prey on
the elderly. They travel in groups of
vehicles which usually bear southern license plates. They avoid law enforcement if at all possible, but are very
deferential when they are encountered.
They usually stay in second rate motels along interstates, and sometimes
travel with their wives and children.
The travelers utilize several
means to avoid detection. They use
multiple i.d.'s, addresses, mail drops, police scanners, walkie talkies, cell
phones, et cetera. When confronted they
offer to make immediate restitution.
After perpetrating a successful fraud, they will also change vehicles
and clothing. They also benefit from
the natural reluctance of their victims to admit having been swindled. Only a small number of their crimes are ever
reported to law enforcement.
Mr. Mayer also gave several
preventive measures which can be utilized to reduce the likelihood of elderly
citizens being defrauded. He also
outlined various tools law enforcement utilizes to prosecute wherever
possible.
