The Phone Guy Behind the Peruvian Extortion Call Centers: Spoofing, Fake Court Recordings and an Extradition

So who sells them that stuff?

In one case out of Miami, prosecutors say it was a guy named David Cornejo Fernandez. And now he's facing charges in a U.S. courtroom.

So what happened?

David Cornejo Fernandez, 36, a resident of Lima, Peru, was extradited to the United States and arraigned in federal court in Miami. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced it on December 3, 2024. Peruvian authorities had arrested him on May 17 of that year on a U.S. extradition request. He faces wire fraud, extortion and conspiracy charges.

According to the indictment, from November 2012 through June 2019, Cornejo:

• Provided Internet-based phone lines, caller ID spoofing services and recording capabilities to fraudulent call centers in Peru.
• Gave co-conspirators technology to change the numbers on victims' caller IDs so threatening calls looked like they came from U.S. federal agencies, court officials or law enforcement.
• Put recordings on inbound lines that sounded like real U.S. courts, police departments and federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
• Supplied software and, at times, training to help callers successfully impersonate government officials.

How the calls worked

The DOJ says the call centers targeted Spanish-speaking people in the U.S. First call: you've been picked for a prize, like a tablet with an English language course. Later calls: you have to make a large payment to get it.

Object, and the threats started. Court proceedings. Arrest. Harm to your immigration status. Callers posed as attorneys, court personnel, federal agents and police officers.

These are allegations. Cornejo is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Here's the thing ...

Read that list again. Phone lines. Spoofing. Recordings. Training.

That's a telecom vendor's product sheet. The only difference is what it was allegedly used for.

So if you sell phone lines, numbers, IVRs or recordings, here's the question. Do you know how your customers are using your services? Because "I just provided the technology" is exactly what this case is testing.

Why should you care?

Regulators and prosecutors keep moving up the chain. First the callers. Then the managers. Then the money people. Now the tech provider.

If your product makes it easy to spoof a government number, you've got a big problem. Am I right?

What to do this week

• Know your customer before you turn on lines. Get real IDs and real use cases.
• Block spoofing of numbers your customers don't own. Especially government numbers.
• Review IVR and greeting recordings on your platform. Anything pretending to be a court or agency? Shut it down.
• Keep records of the vetting you did.

The phone business is a good business. Let's keep it that way. That's it.