Miramar woman tied to telemarketing ring accused of $12M fraud scheme, feds say
A Miramar woman was among seven defendants sentenced this week in federal court for their roles in a transnational telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims and stole more than $12 million, federal prosecutors said.
Tatiana Williams, 28, was sentenced Wednesday, Jan. 7, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to one year and one day in prison for her role in laundering money fraudulently obtained from victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The proceeds of the scheme were shared between defendants, including Williams, and co-conspirators abroad, according to prosecutors.
It’s unknown if any of the victims lived in South Florida.
In a sentencing statement, prosecutors said Williams is a social media influencer who ran the Raw Luxe Hair Co. Her attorney confirmed to the Miramar News that she resided in Miramar.
Here’s how the scheme worked, according to prosecutors:
Williams and six co-defendants helped move and conceal money stolen by overseas co-conspirators who falsely told victims in the United States their bank accounts were at risk from hackers and that their funds would be safe if they mailed checks and money orders.
The India-based co-conspirators contacted the victims and fraudulently induced them to send checks to the U.S.-based defendants, including Williams, under false pretenses, including that the victims’ money was at risk of being stolen from their bank accounts.
After receiving the victims’ checks, the defendants and their U.S. co-conspirators laundered the check proceeds through their own bank accounts and other accounts that they controlled,
They then shared the proceeds among themselves and sent the remainder of the laundered proceeds to the Indian-based co-conspirators.
“Many of the victims were elderly or otherwise vulnerable,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement. “Those who participate in fraudulent conspiracies and work with individuals who prey on the vulnerable will be held accountable.”
The defendants were ordered to pay $12,488,884.33 in restitution.
Williams, the only South Florida defendant, was ordered to forfeit a bank account valued at $229,274.02 and pay an additional $60,000, prosecutors said.
Other defendants, all from New York City or its boroughs, received sentences ranging from 30 to 70 months after pleading guilty.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which said the prosecution shut down a sophisticated fraud network that exploited seniors nationwide.
This story was originally published January 8, 2026 at 4:38 PM.
