HOUSTON -- Four men have pleaded guilty in Houston to participating in a fraud and money laundering scheme that used a network of call centers in India.
Acting United States (US) lawyer Abe Martinez in Houston said individuals at call centers in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated IRS and immigration authorities and threatened victims around the US to use gift cards or wire money to make payments they contended were owed to the government.
US-based "runners" then would liquidate or launder the fraudulent proceeds.
Three men —Nisarg Patel, 26, of Flemington, New Jersey; Dilipkumar Patel, 30, of Ocala, Florida; and Rajesh Kumar, 39, of Mesa, Arizona — pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Houston.
Another man, Dipakkumar Patel, 38, of Pennsylvania, pleaded before a federal judge in Georgia. All are in custody awaiting sentencing. (AP)