Call-centre scam mastermind’s sister was a messenger, say cops
Reema [Thakar] was in constant touch with call centre staff and used to convey news of money transactions abroad to her brother [Sagar]. We have seized her bank account. POLICE OFFICER, Thane crime branch unit
THANE: Officers from Thane crime branch unit 1, who are investigating the multi-crore call centre scam, have found that the mastermind Sagar Thakar’s sister Reema Thakar (Joshi) acted as a messenger in the racket.
A police officer confirming the above statement said, “Reema was in constant touch with call centre staff and used to convey news of money transactions abroad to her brother. We have seized her bank account. We have asked for the bank details.”
Last week, 24-year-old Sagar alias Shaggy, the mastermind of the ₹500-crore call centre scam, was granted bail after 14 months.
A day later, his 32-year-old sister surrendered to the crime branch.
The officer said, “We are also checking if the accused had more bank accounts.”
On October 4, 2016, the Thane crime branch along with the Thane rural police raided seven call centres at Mira Road.
The police arrested more than 75 people, including floor managers, accountants and even an investor.
It was found that the fake call centre employees targeted loan defaulters in the US by posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and department of treasury.
They extorted millions of dollars from around 6,500 people by threatening them with tax fraud or tax evasion.
Thakar roped in his childhood friends to form a network of floor managers, who ran the scam, officers said.
IT experts and those who could operate phone lines were hired.
Employees would either buy or use software to obtain information from the white pages in America, which is similar to the yellow pages in India.