20 years jail for 21 Indians in America

     Written by : SMTV24x7 | Sun, Jul 22, 2018, 05:10 PM

20 years jail for 21 Indians in America

Washington, July 22: The US authorities have busted 21 people in connection with an India-based call center scam that bilked Americans of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Defendants were given sentences ranging from fines and probationary sentences to 20 years in prison, in what U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called "the first-ever large-scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call center scam industry."

The scammers' modus operandi was similar to that of the network of fraudsters who were arrested in Oct. 2016 in an operation that may have targeted Canadians.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, the sophisticated operation revolved around call centers in Ahmedabad, India, from where individuals called American citizens while posing as officials with Internal Revenue Services (IRS) or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCSIS).

Victims were told that they owed the government money, and were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines and deportation if they didn’t pay up. Those who gave in to the scam were made to pay using wire transfers, direct bank deposits or iTunes and other gift cards.

Once payment was made, the call centres alerted a network of runners in the U.S., who worked to liquidate and launder the ill-gotten money.

"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 recognize 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," said Attorney General Sessions.

"This type of fraud is sickening," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. "However, after years of investigation and incredibly hard work by multiple agents and attorneys, these con artists are finally headed to prison. Their cruel tactics preyed on some very vulnerable people, thereby stealing millions from them.'