21 Sentenced in a huge swindle by IRS in India

Twenty-one people involved in a massive fraud and money-laundering plot were sentenced to 20 years in prison, the Justice Ministry said Friday, joining three other conspirators sentenced earlier this year. The operation, based on call centers in India, targeted US residents in phone scams where they posed as representatives of the IRS. In the four years the operation has been active, more than 15,000 US residents have been ransacked on hundreds of millions of dollars and more than 50,000 people have abused their personal information, according to reports New York Times . Attorney General Jeff Sessions has termed it "the first ever large-scale and multi-jurisdictional pursuit targeting the scam industry in India." The Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of the Treasury have been working for years, convicted individuals have used information obtained from data brokers and from other sources. other sources to defraud vulnerable populations, including immigrants and the elderly. With a caller I.D. from us. Government, "the conspirators have come forward as representatives of the IRS or immigration over the phone, threatening arrest, deportation or other sanctions if US residents did not pay them immediately by prepaid cards or telegraphic transfers

The riders would then "liquidate and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible by buying refillable cards or by recovering transfers," reports the DOJ (19659002). To help taxpayers avoid similar scams, the IRS provides a fact sheet explaining that they will never call for immediate payment. Tax payments are always requested by the post office, and taxpayers have the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.The IRS said it will never threaten to get you arrested.

"L & # 39; IRS can not either revoke your driver's license, your driver's license or your immigration status ", according to the fact sheet. "Threats like these are common tactics used by crooks to incite victims to buy their plans."

The 21 individuals convicted by a Houston court last week were in the United States. The Times reports that they resided in Illinois, Arizona, Florida, California, Alabama, Indiana, New Jersey, and Texas

Twenty-two of the defendants were required jointly responsible for the restitution payments of more than $ 8.9 million. to victims of the scam, the DOJ report. The court also indicted 32 conspirators based in India and five call centers based in India with "general conspiracy, fraudulent conspiracy and money-laundering conspiracy", but the court also sentenced more than 72.9 millions of dollars. no charges were laid.