Two Indian students landed in jail for being involved in fraud targeting elderly citizens in the United States (US).
Though they were booked for different cases, they were involved in similar fraud cases. Due to the frauds, citizens have lost millions of dollars.
Modus operandi of Indian student in US
One of the students has been identified as 20-year-old Kishan Rajeshkumar Patel. He has been sentenced to jail for over five years.
As per the US Department of Justice, he was part of an online phishing scam. He used to impersonate US government officials to get money and jewelry from the senior citizens.
Patel was caught when he went to collect what he thought was USD 130,000 in Granite Shoals, Texas on August 24, 2024. He has been in federal custody since August 29.
Loss of over USD 2.6 million
Due to the fraud, a total of USD 2,694,156 was lost. It targeted at least 25 elderly victims.
In a separate case, another Indian student, Moinuddin Mohammed, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a similar scam.
In this scam, elderly Americans lost around 6 million.
Recently, an Indian-origin man has been sentenced to over six years in prison for his involvement in a nearly USD 2 million scheme to defraud senior citizens by using call centers abroad.
Giving him the 75-month sentence on Wednesday, Federal Judge William Jung also ordered Pranav Patel to forfeit USD 1.79 million that was collected from seniors in Florida and elsewhere.
In view of the frauds, the US Justice Department and FBI continue to urge caution.
