24 people pled guilty to their involvement in a years-long India phone scam. It involved people pretending to be from the IRS.
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India Phone Scam Case
The indictment—filed October 2016—was originally against 61 people. It included charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft, impersonation of an officer of the United States, wire fraud, and money laundering.
If their victims didn’t pay them, they threatened to arrest or deport them, along with threatening bigger fines. Related scams involved fake payday loans and U.S. government grants.
The scammers have been given prison sentences ranging from four to 20 years. The lead defendant, Miteshkumar Patel, got 20 years. Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave a statement last week:
The stiff sentences imposed this week represent the culmination of the first-ever large scale, multi-jurisdiction prosecution targeting the India call center scam industry. This case represents one of the most significant victories to date in our continuing efforts to combat elder fraud and the victimization of the most vulnerable members of the US public.
For more information about the India phone scam case, the Department of Justice set up a web page.
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I recently received 3 calls in a row pretending to be the IRS and claiming that I was guilty of tax fraud. The first was identified as coming from Peru, the second from Vietnam, the third from Malaysia. All three calls were identical but this is the first time I’ve seen calls coming from out of country (per my carrier). The IRS scams seem to have moved offshore for US citizens.