HOUSTON – The second ringleader in an international fraud scheme targeting the elderly has been ordered to prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX).
Hardik Jayantilal Patel, 37, an undocumented immigrant living in Lexington, Kentucky, pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2023.
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Patel was sentenced to serve 46 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
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Patel will also pay a combined $3,203,478 in restitution to 85 identified victims. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanen noted the large number of victims and the significant harm Patel and his conspirators caused.
Because he is not a U.S. citizen, Patel is expected to face removal proceedings following the sentence.
Details of scheme
From March through November 2019, Patel led a team of domestic money mules aka “runners.” They laundered money tied to telemarketing fraud schemes originating from call centers in India. Most victims were elderly.
Scammers pretended to work for the U.S. government and claimed the victims were under investigation. They claimed the only way to clear their name was to send cash by mail. Runners in the United States would then pick up the packages and launder the cash.
At least three runners worked under Patel in 2019, prosecutors noted.
He also reportedly collaborated with an associate, Sohil Usmangani Vahora, who managed his own team of four runners. Together, they coordinated efforts to launder fraud proceeds.
Runners under both Patel and Vahora picked up hundreds of packages between 2019 and 2020 nationwide. These packages contained millions of dollars in cash that victims in multiple states had sent.
Patel was the last of seven to be sentenced in related cases in the SDTX. Vahora, 40, Des Plaines, Illinois, received more than 15 years in prison and was ordered to pay over $3.5 million in restitution.
Runners tied to scheme
Zaheen Malvi, 30, Heber Springs, Arkansas, initially worked as a runner in the scheme. He later assisted Vahora in managing two other individuals involved in the operation. He received a 54-month sentence and was ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.
Dhirenkumar Patel, 33, Richmond, Kentucky, was a runner who worked for Patel. He was ordered to serve 18 months in prison and pay $225,221 in restitution to his victims.
Three other runners received sentences ranging from 29-60 months.
With the exception of Vahora, who was a legal permanent resident, Patel and his co-conspirators were all illegally in the country when they committed their crimes.
Patel will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.