From Syracuse.com:
My sister died while awaiting a liver transplant. Words fail me at the depths to which some people will go in order to make a fast buck.Syracuse, NY -- A Canadian woman whose husband was dying of liver failure wired $70,000 to a DeWitt bank to pay for a life-saving transplant in the Philippines. But when he flew to the hospital, he learned that the doctor who was to perform the surgery didn't exist. The husband died in the Philippines several weeks later, after piling up an additional $20,000 in legitimate medical bills at another hospital.
That was one account that helped a grand jury in Syracuse indict Jerome Feldman, who was captured recently in the Philippines and should arrive in Central New York within a few weeks.
At least $400,000 was wired to Feldman's account at Chase Bank in DeWitt by people duped into believing they were paying for organ transplants, federal investigators said.
Feldman has Central New York ties, they said. While living as a fugitive in the Philippines, Feldman was trolling the Internet for more victims needing transplants, the FBI said.
The critically ill victims would wire him money and fly to the Philippines, where some died waiting for surgeries that were never scheduled to be performed by doctors who didn't exist.
When victims' family members pressed Feldman for refunds, he would cut off contact, investigators said.
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