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On Thursday morning, federal authorities in Texas unsealed criminal charges against dozens of people who are accused of being part of a “transnational criminal organization” that allegedly victimized tens of thousands of people and yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
The indictment was filed against 61 people and includes charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft, impersonation of an officer of the United States, wire fraud, and money laundering. Of those people, 20 were arrested Thursday in the US.
The suspects are believed to have orchestrated an incredibly large series of phone-based scams that lasted for years. According to prosecutors, the suspects would call victims, impersonating Internal Revenue Service and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services officials, and would then demand payment through debit cards or wire transfers. If victims didn’t pay up, the callers threatened them with arrest, deportation, or heavier fines. There were also related scams involving fake payday loans and bogus US government grants, according to the criminal complaint.
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Source: Ars Technica – 20 arrested, 61 charged in India-based IRS phone scam case