According to US Attorney Alamdar S Hamdani, Pinjara was a “runner” in an Indian-based call centre scam between December 2019 and July 2020
An Indian citizen has been sentenced to 29 months in prison for his involvement in a call centre scam.
Moin Idrishbhai Pinjara pleaded guilty on November 30 and is expected to face removal proceedings after his incarceration. US District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered him to pay restitution to the conspiracy’s victims in the amount of USD 6,35,103.
According to US Attorney Alamdar S Hamdani, Pinjara was a “runner” in an Indian-based call centre scam between December 2019 and July 2020.
Callers from India would attempt to extort money from potential victims in the United States. Pinjara would then use aliases and fake identification documents to pick up cash-filled parcels mailed by the victims.
According to him, one common script used in the schemes involved duping victims into believing federal agents were investigating them.
The “agent” on the phone would convince the victim that the only way to clear his or her name was to send cash in a FedEx parcel package to a name and address they provided.
According to federal prosecutors, parcels would then be picked up by runner like Pinjara in the United States.
Hundreds of victims of this scheme were identified by law enforcement during the course of the investigation, with total losses exceeding millions of dollars.
According to a press release, the Social Security Administration (SSA) consistently warns people about similar scams and encourages citizens to protect themselves.
