US indicts 61 firms, individuals in call centre fraud

American officials on Thursday Oct 27,2016 charged 61 firms and individuals in relation to a call centre scam that involved fraudsters in India, and arrested 20 persons from eight US states. 

The scamsters had impersonated US revenue officials to extort money from unsuspecting victims. Earlier this month, Thane Police arrested 70 persons after a raid on seven call centres operating illegally. Another 630 people were booked for extortion, cheating by impersonation and cheating. A 33-year-old Mumbai businessman identified as Jagdish Kanani, who is alleged to have mentored the mastermind of the multi-million dollar racket, was also arrested.

According to sources, after the raids by Thane Police, FBI officers visited Mumbai to find out about the different entities that were part of the nexus. The US officials then involved several departments there to to carry out the arrests.

Thursday’s arrests were based on an indictment brought in the Southern District of Texas that charges 61 entities and individuals, including five call centre groups, located primarily in the United States and India, with an international fraud and money laundering conspiracy, US Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a statement. More than15,000 victims lost over $300 million in the scam. “More than 15,000 victims, including new immigrants to this country and the elderly, were targeted by a complex fraud scheme involving a network of call centres originating in India. This transnational criminal ring targeted victims in the United States, impersonating IRS, Immigration, police and other government officials, and demanded immediate payments to avoid deportation, arrest warrants or to cover allegedly unpaid income taxes. 

In the process, these criminals took in hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds,” Caldwell said.

The investigation revealed that there were victims across the United States — mainly immigrants and the elderly. In one instance, a man from California was duped into shelling out $136,000 through calls made multiple times over a 20-day period, demanding payment for alleged tax violations. 

“The arrests are a very positive step for the Indian BPM industry, which has always had very strong processes. The individuals arrested were not just Indians but also American citizens and have shown no connection to the organised BPM industry in India. This case also demonstrates the robustness of the Indian judiciary system and Indian law enforcement agencies,” said KS Viswanathan, Vice-President of Nasscom.

The criminal network is believed to have been working for the last four years, using a variety of schemes to trick frightened individuals over the telephone.