Some Justice for Phone Scammers

You know those spam calls that threaten money is owed to the IRS and if you don’t pay over-the-phone you will be arrested?  How about the call that the US Immigration will deport you if you don’t pay.  All annoying scams.  But, highly profitable for the organized criminals behind them. 

One of the biggest offenders was an operation based out of India, outside the reach of U.S. authorities, that pulled in upwards of $65 million from American victims. 

Well, the head of that organization, a convicted criminal by the name of Hitesh Patel, has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison!  Additionally, he has been ordered to pay almost $9 million in restitution to his victims.  He is the topmost leader in the scam, that includes over 60 people being charged, to be found guilty. 

Good news for anyone who has received those harassing calls and to those who have been duped into sending money. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has been aggressively pursuing such fraudsters, but stymied by international challenges from some of the countries that these organizations operate from.  India has been a particularly problematic to have suspects arrested and extradited to the U.S. for trial.