Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel, Chaitali Dave, Laundering, Georgia 2020

State: Georgia
Category: Fraud &#038; Financial Crimes
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga/pr/couple-sentenced-laundering-over-500000-behalf-india-based-phone-scammers" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

A husband and wife duo has been sentenced for laundering over $500,000 on behalf of India-based phone scammers. Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel and Chaitali Dave, both 36, of Lamar, South Carolina, were found guilty of their crimes.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court reveal that the defendants worked with criminal India-based call centers to defraud U.S. residents, including the elderly. The call centers used scams such as Social Security and tech support scams to deceive victims. They would threaten arrest and the loss of assets if the victims did not send money, which was then laundered by Patel and Dave.

The victims, including Georgia residents, mailed money to a network of individuals that laundered funds on behalf of the overseas fraud network. From May 2019 to January 2020, Patel and Dave laundered over $500,000 sent by dozens of scam victims.

Chaitali Dave was sentenced on April 28, 2021, to one year, eight months to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $320,550 in restitution.

Mehulkumar Manubhai Patel was sentenced on December 1, 2020, to two years, six months, to be followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $259,217 in restitution.

The Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General investigated the case with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service, El Dorado Task Force (New York), Aiken Department of Public Safety, and other law enforcement agencies.

Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine warns citizens to never provide money or personal information to callers they don’t know and trust. The U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Steven Baisel also urges people to report suspicious calls to the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General.

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