Four in US plead guilty in fraud scheme using India’s call centres

They threatened victims around the US to use gift cards or wire money to make payments they contended were owed to the government.

Four men have pleaded guilty in Houston for participating in a fraud and money laundering scheme that used a network of call centres in India.

The accused at call centres in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated Internal Revenue Service and immigration authorities and threatened victims around the US. (File)

Acting US attorney Abe Martinez in Houston said individuals at call centres in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and immigration authorities and threatened victims around the US to use gift cards or wire money to make payments they contended were owed to the government.

US-based “runners” then would liquidate or launder the fraudulent proceeds.

Three men — 26-year-old Nisarg Patel, of Flemington, New Jersey; 30-year-old Dilipkumar Patel, of Ocala, Florida; and 39-year-old Rajesh Kumar, of Mesa, Arizona — pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in Houston.

Another man, 38-year-old Dipakkumar Patel, of Pennsylvania, pleaded before a federal judge in Georgia. All are in custody awaiting sentencing.