Indian-origin persons among 15 indicted in US call centre scam
Washington, Sep 8: Fifteen people, including some of Indian-origin, and five India-based call centres have been indicted in a multi-million call centre scam that victimized thousands of people in the US.
Seven people were arrested on Thursday in the US for their alleged involvement in the scam that victimized over 2,000 people, resulting in over $5.5 million in losses, the US Justice Department said in a press release on Friday.
Seven defendants and five call centres in India were also charged for their alleged involvement, officials said.
Mohamed Kazim Momin, Palak Kumar Patel, Mohammed Sozab Momin, Devin Bradford Pope, Nicholas Alezander Deane, Drue Kyle Riggins and Jantz Parrish Miller were arraigned before US Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.
"Internal Revenue Service (federal tax agency) and payday loan phone schemes seek to profit by exploiting US citizens, including the most vulnerable members of our community," said US Attorney Byung J. Pak.
"This indictment and yesterday's arrests demonstrate our commitment to identifying and prosecuting those who hide behind these types of phone scams."
"This indictment makes clear that the IRS impersonation scam has risen to a new level, with indictments against five call centres and seven co-conspirators in India who allegedly directed their employees to participate in the scam," said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The indictment alleged that the defendants were involved in a "sophisticated scheme organized by co-conspirators in India, including a network of call centres in Ahmedabad".
Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the accused allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the IRS or individuals offering fictitious payday loans.
The accused would then threaten potential victims with arrest, imprisonment, or fines if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government.
If the victims agreed to pay, the Indian call centres allegedly would immediately turn to a network of US-based co-conspirators to liquidate and launder the extorted funds by purchasing prepaid debit cards or through wire transfers, to the attention of fictitious names and US-based defendants and their co-conspirators.
The five India-based call centres that were indicted were Excellent Solutions BPO, ADN Infotech Pvt. Ltd, Infoace BPO Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Adore Infosource, Inc. and Zurik BPO Services Pvt. Ltd.
The other indicted people were Shylesh Kumar Sharma, Dilipkumar Kodwini, Radhishraj Natarajan, Shubham Sharma, Nirav Janakbhai Panchal, Athar Parvez Mansuri, Mohmmad Samir Memon and Rodrigo Leon-Castillo.
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In biggest haul, drugs worth Rs 51 cr seized in Meghalaya, 2 held
Shillong (PTI): The Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over Rs 51 crore, the biggest haul of narcotics in the state so far, in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two Mizoram-based persons in this connection, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking conducted by the police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) personnel in the Ratacherra area on Friday, he said.
During the operation, a vehicle with three persons, including the driver, on board was intercepted and searched in accordance with due legal procedures.
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Upon checking, 19 plastic soap cases, containing suspected heroin weighing 203.7 grams, were recovered from the possession of one of the three persons, the officer said.
The search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a blue-coloured trolley bag belonging to another occupant of the vehicle.
Suspected crystal meth (methamphetamine) tablets weighing 10.145 kilograms were found in the bag, the police officer said.
'Meth' tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and a preliminary investigation suggested that they are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking syndicate, the officer said.
"The total value of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 51.13 crore", ANTF chief Vikash Kumar told PTI.
The arrested persons hail from Mizoram, he said.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and an investigation is underway to establish the forward and backward linkages related to the seizure, the officer added.
