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Virginia Man Pleads Guilty in Multimillion-Dollar Robocalls Scheme
Two Indian nationals pleaded guilty today to conspiracy charges relating to their involvement in an overseas-based robocalls scheme that defrauded thousands of victims out of millions of dollars.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Pradipsinh Parmar, 41, crisscrossed the United States to collect nearly $6 million that was stolen from more than 4,000 victims in an international robocalls scam.
“By falsely impersonating representatives of the FBI, DEA, Social Security Administration, and other government agencies, members of this conspiracy preyed on thousands of unsuspecting victims, many of whom were elderly,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Pradipsinh Parmar collected money on behalf of the robocall conspiracy that victims had sent either by a parcel delivery carrier or through a wire service. Upon receiving the victims’ money, Parmar deposited these funds into bank accounts as directed by the conspiracy’s leader, Shehzadkhan Pathan, 39.
Pathan operated a call center in Ahmedabad, India, from which automated robocalls were made to victims in the United States. After establishing contact with victims through these automated calls, Pathan and other “closers” at his call center would coerce, cajole, and trick victims to send bulk cash through physical shipments and electronic money transfers.
Pathan and his conspirators used a variety of schemes to convince victims to send money, including impersonating law enforcement officials from the FBI and DEA, and representatives of other government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, to threaten victims with severe legal and financial consequences. Conspirators also convinced victims to send money via wire transfer as initial installments for falsely promised loans.
A significant number of victims who were tricked or coerced into sending bulk cash were elderly. Parmar admitted that over a two-year period from March 2017 to April 2019, he traveled to 30 states and collected at least 4,358 wire transfers sent by victims via Western Union, MoneyGram, and Walmart2Walmart, with losses totaling at least $4,312,585.
Additionally, Parmar, working for Pathan and another individual, received and attempted to receive at least 91 packages of bulk cash sent by victims from several states, including Virginia, via FedEx, UPS, or USPS, totaling at least $1,593,591.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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