NEW YORK: A 60-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for laundering money obtained through fraud schemes targeting elderly people. He has also been ordered to pay approximately USD 2.4 million in restitution to the victims.
Ahmed Maqbul Syed, an Indian citizen and former resident of Illinois, was sentenced to 96 months in prison on October 27 by US District Judge John C. Hinderaker. He had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
Syed participated in a conspiracy to launder proceeds from widespread "tech support" and "government imposter" scams that targeted elderly people across the United States, including Arizona.
The fraud typically began with fake pop-up messages on victims' computers warning them of a technical problem or causing their devices to freeze. When victims followed instructions to call for assistance, they were connected to scammers posing as technical support personnel or government representatives.
The scammers falsely claimed that the victims' accounts had been hacked and their personal information compromised. In some cases, victims were told that their accounts had been linked to child pornography or other criminal activities.
The victims were then instructed to withdraw or transfer money under the pretext of protecting their assets. Some were told to purchase gold or withdraw cash and hand it over to people posing as government officials. Others were directed to buy gift cards and share the numbers with the scammers.
At least one victim was instructed to deposit cash into a Bitcoin ATM. Some victims lost most of their life savings in the scheme, according to the Justice Department. (with inputs from media organisations)