21 PIOs in US get up to 20 years in jail
■ Stiff prison terms ranging from 4 to 20 years for convicts
New York, July 21: Twentyone Indian- origin persons have been sentenced up to 20 years in prison in the US for their involvement in a multimillion- dollar call centre scam which defrauded thousands of American citizens of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The scam, linked to call centres based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, defrauded Americans and legal immigrants of millions by callers posing as US officials threatening them with arrest, deportation, imprisonment and fines for unpaid dues to the government.
All the 21, sentenced to jail term ranging from four to 20 years, are either Indians or naturalised Americans of Indian descent. Some of them have consented to be deported back to India after the completion of their jail term.
“The stiff sentences imposed represent the culmination of the first- ever large scale, multi- jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call centre scam industry,” United States attorney general Jeff Sessions said.
“The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings through their lies, threats and financial schemes must recognise that all resources at the Department’s disposal will be deployed to shut down these telefraud schemes, put those responsible in jail, and bring a measure of justice to the victims,” he added.
Prosecutors said the Indian call centres used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. According to various admissions made in connection with the pleas, between 2012 and 2016, the defendants and their conspirators perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centres located in Ahmedabad frequently impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America.
The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings must recognise that all resources at the department’s disposal will be deployed to put those responsible in jail — Jeff Sessions, US attorney general
New York, July 21: Over 20 Indian- origin persons have been sentenced up to 20 years in prison in the US for their involvement in a multimilliondollar India- based call centre scam which defrauded thousands of American citizens of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The prison sentences for the 21 people convicted this week ranges from 4 to 20 years. “The stiff sentences imposed represent the culmination of the first- ever large scale, multi- jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call centre scam industry,” US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. Several of the convicted will be deported to India after the completion of their sentence.
“This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimisation of the most vulnerable members of the US public.
“The transnational criminal ring of fraudsters and money launderers who conspired to bilk older Americans, legal immigrants and many others out of their life savings through their lies, threats and financial schemes must recognise that all resources at the Department’s disposal will be deployed to shut down these telefraud schemes, put those responsible in jail, and bring a measure of justice to the victims,” Sessions said. According to US officials, the call centre scam defrauded thousands of US residents of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prosecutors said the Indian call centres used various telephone fraud schemes to defraud mainly vulnerable Americans, including the elderly and legal immigrants. According to various admissions made in connection with the pleas, between 2012 and 2016, the defendants and their conspirators perpetrated a complex fraud and money laundering scheme in which individuals from call centres located in Ahmedabad frequently impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service or US Citizenship and Immigration Services in a ruse designed to defraud victims located throughout America.
Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, call centre operators targeted US victims who were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay the alleged money owed to the government.
Victims who agreed to pay the scammers were instructed how to make a payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money.
Once the payment was done, the call centres turned to a network of runners based in the US to liquidate and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible by purchasing reloadable cards or retrieving wire transfers, the Justice Department said.
In a typical scenario, call centres directed runners to purchase these stored value reloadable cards and transmit the unique card number to India- based co- conspirators who registered the cards using the misappropriated personal identifying information of the US citizens.
The India- based co- conspirators then loaded these cards with scam funds obtained from the victims. The runners used the cards to buy money orders that they deposited into the bank account of another person. The indictment for the case also charged 32 India- based conspirators and five India- based call centres with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. These defendants have not yet been arraigned.