Montreal man guilty in grandparent scam after Central America flight

Jimmy Ylimaki, a Montreal resident, stood in a U.S. federal court on Oct. 19 and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty. The charge is conspiracy to commit fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for January.

U.S. prosecutors describe Ylimaki as a "closer" in a large-scale grandparent scam network. He posed as an attorney representing victims' relatives. He told elderly Americans that their family members were in jail and needed cash bail. Victims handed over sums ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

Ylimaki worked from call centers operated by Gareth West, the alleged leader of the group. West ran a real estate investment business across Ontario and Quebec. He also marketed himself as an influencer and amateur bodybuilder. Prosecutors say the scheme generated tens of millions of dollars.

Police found Ylimaki hiding in a downstairs shower during a raid on one of West's buildings in June 2024. Assistant District Attorney Nathanael Burris stated that Ylimaki was caught "red-handed" calling U.S. seniors moments before officers arrived. Ylimaki left for Costa Rica shortly after that raid.

He spent about a year as a fugitive. In March 2025, police arrested 24 people in the Montreal area, but West and Ylimaki escaped. West was later arrested at an Airbnb in Saint-Colomban, Que., in July 2025. That left Ylimaki as the only member of the group still at large.

A detention motion filed in March 2026 says Ylimaki researched extradition rules. He learned that Costa Rica cooperates with the U.S. on extradition, while Nicaragua has historically refused American requests. He crossed the border into Nicaragua to avoid capture. U.S. authorities apprehended him there in March 2026 and removed him to the U.S.

Ylimaki was paid more than $367,000 in U.S. dollars over a 67-week period within the alleged three-year conspiracy. Burris noted that conspiracy members frequently used cryptocurrency for transactions. This makes it difficult to determine the full extent of Ylimaki's financial resources. Thirty-one other defendants are accused alongside him. They remain in Canada, where they are contesting extradition.