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Sohil Usmangani Vahora, 39, Sentenced to 15 Years for Call Center Scam
A 39-year-old legal permanent resident from India has been sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Sohil Usmangani Vahora, a resident of Des Plaines, Illinois, pleaded guilty to the charges on October 23, 2023. U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered him to serve 15 years and 8 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. As an LPR, Vahora could also lose his status in the United States.
Vahora was ordered to pay a combined $3,541,258 in restitution to dozens of individual victims. At the hearing, the court heard that over 80 percent of Vahora’s victims were elderly. Victim impact statements received from 33 victims or their family members described “relentless” phone calls, financial hardship and feelings of shame Vahora and his co-conspirators caused.
“Vahora chose to go all in on India’s predatory call centers, swindling savings from his elderly neighbors while at the same time turning his back on the country that chose to let him in,” said Hamdani. “He saw the money flowing through his organization as nothing more than dollar signs, ignoring the foreign fraudsters who stole money and dashed dreams using a script of fear and lies. Today’s sentence sends the message that people who move a victim’s money are as culpable as the person who initially places the bogus call.”
Between 2017 and 2020, Vahora managed a team of domestic money mules or “runners.” He received work from call centers in India that were perpetrating telemarketing scams in the United States. One common script used in the scheme involved coercing victims into believing members of law enforcement were investigating them.
The “federal authority” on the phone would convince the victim the only way to clear his or her name from investigation was to buy gift cards and transfer the redemption codes to the call center or mail cash in a package to a name and address the call center provided. Runners in the United States would then deplete the gift card funds and pick up the packages.
Vahora will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Co-conspirator Zaheen Rafikbhai Malvi, 30, Heber Springs, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud on May 15, 2023, and is set for sentencing on December 9. At that time, Malvi faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations in Houston and Fayetteville, Arkansas, conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI and Heber Springs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Bauman and Kate Suh are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Cybercrime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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