Montreal Man Admits Guilt in Grandparent Scam

Jimmy Ylimaki, a Montreal resident, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to charges related to a major grandparent scam network. He had previously argued he was not guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. The change in his legal stance occurred during a hearing on Oct. 19.

Ylimaki will be sentenced in January. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years. U.S. assistant district attorney Nathanael Burris stated that police caught Ylimaki "red-handed" during a raid on a call center in June 2024. Officers found him hiding in a downstairs shower at a building owned by the alleged ring leader, Gareth West, moments after he had called victims.

The alleged scheme generated tens of millions of dollars. West ran a real estate investment business in Ontario and Quebec while posing as an influencer and amateur bodybuilder. His co-conspirators placed phone calls to elderly victims from call centers located in the Montreal area. Ylimaki served as a "closer," pretending to be an attorney. He told victims they needed to pay large sums, ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, to bail a relative out of jail.

Ylimaki was paid more than $367,000 U.S. during a 67-week period within the three-year conspiracy. He fled to Costa Rica after the initial raid failed to lead to immediate charges. In March 2025, police arrested two dozen other suspects in Montreal, but West and Ylimaki avoided capture. West was later arrested in Saint-Colomban, Que., in July 2025.

Ylimaki remained the only member of the group at large until March 2026. A detention motion filed in March 2026 claims he researched extradition laws before moving to Nicaragua. He learned that Costa Rica cooperated with the U.S. on extradition, whereas Nicaragua had historically refused such requests. U.S. authorities apprehended him in Nicaragua in March 2026 and removed him to the United States. The details of that operation remain unclear.

Thirty-one other defendants are charged in the case. They remain in Canada, where they are currently contesting extradition. Burris noted that conspiracy members frequently used cryptocurrency for transactions. This made it difficult for investigators to determine the true extent of the group's resources.