An Indian national responsible for operating a multimillion dollar call center scam is now facing charges in the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), authorities in Singapore arrested and extradited Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, who allegedly led the operations of HGLobal call center that defrauded thousands of U.S. residents.
Allegations against the Indian national and his co-conspirators
The U.S. government charged Patel and 60 other individuals and entities with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Patel arrived in the country on Friday. Patel and his co-conspirators allegedly swindled hundreds of millions of dollars from their victims.
In its complaint, the U.S. government alleged that Patel and his co-conspirators participated in a complex call center scam. They allegedly impersonated officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Patel and his co-conspirators allegedly threatened potential victims of arrest, deportation, fines or imprisonment if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the U.S. government. They quickly liquidated and laundered the money extorted from their victims through value cards or wire transfers.
