A South Carolina man was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The Justice Department says his fraud scheme targeted elders.
According to WSPA, Jeel Patel, 22, was part of an international fraud scheme based out of call centers in India. The call centers would trick elderly people into wiring money to their bank accounts by impersonating government agents, primarily the FBI and the DEA.
The centers would also convince people to send packages of cash to different locations, the Justice Department said in a press release. Couriers, such as Jeel Patel, would retrieve the packages, keep some of the cash for themselves and forward the remaining money to those in charge of the scheme.
According to WSPA, Jeel Patel worked for Bhavinkumar ‘Sunny’ Patel, 28, of Richmond, Virginia, who stole nearly $3 million from over 120 victims. Jeel retrieved 14 packages from 10 different victims for Sunny, stealing a total of $485,020.
Jeel was officially sentenced on February 14. The Justice Department says the case is an example of their commitment to combatting elder abuse.
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“Together with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners, the Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to combatting all forms of elder abuse and financial exploitation through enforcement actions, training and resources, research, victim services, and public awareness. This holistic and robust response demonstrates the Department’s unwavering dedication to fighting for justice for older Americans,” the Department wrote in a press release.
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