"He did so for personal profit"
A US Indian man was jailed for one year and one day for defrauding elderly victims of more than $700,000 in a call centre scheme.
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said Arifkhan Pathan will also have three years of supervised release.
Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman said Pathan had a key role in defrauding 28 victims nationwide between August 2020 and January 2021.
Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman said:
“Pathan participated extensively in a fraud scheme that caused enormous harm to dozens of US victims, many of whom were elderly and lost their retirement savings.
“He did so for personal profit and should not be allowed to escape from facing the consequences of his actions.”
Homeland Security investigators became aware of suspicious packages arriving at Seattle UPS and FedEx locations in November 2020.
The packages were filled with cash and were sent by victims from across the United States.
Packages were sent to conspirators using fake identity documents, such as driver’s licenses, to collect the packages.
Fraud victims told the authorities they received a phone call from someone who claimed to work for the Social Security Administration.
Gorman said: “The caller claimed the victim’s Social Security number had been compromised, and the only way to protect their money was to withdraw thousands in cash from their accounts and send it via UPS or FedEx to an ‘agent’ elsewhere in the US for safe-keeping.
“Victims were demanded to send packages with up to $30,000 in cash.
“According to the FBI, in 2022 there was more than $1 billion in victim losses due to these call centre fraud schemes.”
“These schemers often target elderly victims and pretend to be government officials to try to build trust so they can steal their money.
“We need to repeatedly remind people that government employees will never ask you to withdraw and send packages of cash to some other address for ‘safe-keeping’.”
Co-conspirators used UPS and FedEx so they could track and pick up cash packages using fake identity documents.
The investigation revealed the callers were linked to an Indian call centre.
Pathan used bogus driver’s licenses in real people’s identities to collect the packages.
He deposited most of the money in various bank accounts that could be accessed by his co-conspirators and was paid approximately a seven per cent commission.
Hinman said: “Seven of these victims have explained to the Court how severely the offence impacted them, including substantial loss of retirement savings, loss of credit, ongoing debt, and inability to afford basic items like groceries and medications.
“This financial hardship also caused victims to suffer from enormous anxiety, causing weight loss, migraines, and more.”
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