Indian-origin man jailed in US for $1.5 million identification theft rip-off

A 41-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to just about 4 years in jail after pleading responsible to possessing false identification paperwork and working an unlicensed cash switch enterprise that led to USD 1.5 million in losses to victims.

Vimalkumar Trivedi of Plainfield, Indiana, was sentenced to 46 months in federal jail, a press release issued right here on Friday stated.

US District Court Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt imposed the sentence and ordered Trivedi’s supervision by the US Probation Office for 3 years following his launch from federal jail.

Authorities stated Trivedi was a part of an imposter rip-off that used scare techniques and identification theft to rip-off harmless victims out of hard-earned cash.

Defaulted a number of victims

According to courtroom paperwork, from April 2017 by means of April 2021, Trivedi defrauded a number of victims, together with some aged people, into sending money to numerous areas, together with Indianapolis, by means of courier companies.

“Trivedi and his co-conspirators in the US and India masqueraded as federal law enforcement agents and told the victims that their Social Security numbers had been found in connection with criminal activity, often narcotics trafficking. The criminals stated that the victims would be arrested if they did not immediately withdraw large sums of cash and mail it to fictitious individuals,” it stated.

Trivedi tracked the packages of cash despatched by fraud victims to the fictional recipients and picked them up at a number of courier areas. In every occasion, he used a false identification doc within the identify of the listed package deal recipient.

In complete, Trivedi possessed at the least 53 false identification paperwork, every along with his image however containing completely different figuring out data. He used these false identification paperwork to choose up at the least 122 packages containing USD 901,124 in money proceeds of the fraud.

Trivedi saved USD 60,000 stolen from victims for his use and forwarded the rest to his associates.

Through the investigation, regulation enforcement brokers have recognized and confirmed roughly 17 victims, recognized round 50 different suspected victims, and recognized roughly USD 1.5 million in losses to the victims.

“International fraud conspiracies steal from hard-working people using lies, manipulation, and fear,” US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary Myers, stated.

“These vicious crimes often devastate families and individuals victimised by these heartless thieves. The sentence, in this case, demonstrates that fraudsters seeking a quick buck will pay a heavy price for their crimes,” Myers added.

Special Agent in Charge Welber Hickman of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office stated Trivedi’s conspirators threatened and scared harmless victims into sending him massive sums of cash in a vile scheme for which he deserves to be held absolutely accountable.

Published On:

Aug 12, 2023