Mira Road Call Centre Scam - Accussed Pleads Guilty in USA
Meera road call centre scam accused, Hitesh Patel has pleaded guilty for his role in operating and funding a network of India-based call centers through which local callers and US conspirators scammed US victims out of millions from 2013 to 2016, the Department of Justice reported this week. Patel was extradited to the United States from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges for this crime. The indictment, unsealed in October 2016, charged Patel and 60 other individuals and entities with general conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. According to admissions made in his plea, Patel and co-conspirators developed a scheme in which employees of call centers in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated officials from the IRS and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). They threatened to arrest, imprison, fine, or deport victims if they didn't pay alleged fees owed to the government. Victims who fell for the scam were told how to pay, usually via general-pu