Two Convicted for their Roles in Multi-Million Dollar Transnational Telephone Scam

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia

ATLANTA - Pradip Parikh, 67, of Valley Stream, New York, and Alpesh Patel, 40, of Louisa, Virginia, have been convicted for their roles in a scam that defrauded unsuspecting Americans out of millions of dollars after a five-day jury trial.                                                                                                                                         

“This case involved a scheme to defraud multiple victims – many of whom were elderly – and to callously rob them of their hard-earned savings,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “The defendants and their conspirators within and outside the United States enriched themselves through government-imposter scams designed to exploit the public’s inherent trust in federal institutions. The jury has spoken, and Parikh and Patel will now be held accountable for their crimes.”

“These defendants deliberately preyed on some of our most vulnerable citizens—particularly the elderly—by impersonating Social Security officials and exploiting their trust,” said Michelle L. Anderson, Assistant Inspector General for Audit performing the duties of the Social Security Administration (SSA), Inspector General. “This telephone imposter scheme defrauded millions of Americans and caused real harm to individuals who believed they were protecting their benefits. Today’s convictions send a clear message: we will relentlessly pursue those who weaponize fear and deceit to commit fraud, and we thank our law enforcement partners for helping bring these perpetrators to justice.”

“These defendants targeted mostly older adults to cheat them out of their savings,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “This sentencing should make it known to individuals that protecting our most vulnerable community members is critically important, and we will hold accountable those who engage in these sorts of egregious fraud schemes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In 2022, Pradip Parikh, Alpesh Patel, and eight others were indicted for running, promoting, and profiting from an India-based call center scam targeting Americans. The fraudsters typically identified themselves as Social Security Administration employees, telling the victims that their Social Security Numbers had been compromised in connection with criminal activity and promising to help “protect” their assets. Upon luring the victims to agree to this offer, the fraudsters directed the victims to send money to bank accounts controlled by Parikh, Patel, and other conspirators. 

During the defendants’ trial, a 70-year-old victim from New Jersey testified that one of the conspirators told her that she would be arrested and lose all her assets if she did not transfer funds to accounts that the caller designated. In response, the victim transferred more than $600,000 of her lifesavings to multiple banks accounts, including $150,000 to an account called “JDM Management” that Parikh controlled.

A recently widowed mother of eight testified that she transferred over $300,000 to JDM Management’s account as part of the scheme. Parikh then laundered the funds, retaining thousands for himself and transferring the balance to a conspirator. 

Other victims testified that they wired money to an account called “Seven Points Agency” that Patel controlled. Evidence admitted during trial revealed that the Seven Points Agency account was opened just before scam victims began wiring money into it. More than $100,000 was deposited into the account in the span of two days, and Patel immediately diverted those funds to a conspirator after keeping approximately $10,000 for himself. 

Pradip Parikh and Alpesh Patel were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two substantive counts of money laundering. The jury convicted Patel of all the counts. Parikh was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of money laundering. 

The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment, and the money laundering counts each carry a maximum penalty of ten years of incarceration. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

Sentencing hearings for the defendants will be scheduled at a future date before United States District Judge William M. Ray II.

This case is being investigated by the Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Angela Adams and Special Assistant United States Attorney Diane C. Schulman are prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force. The Strike Force focuses on investigating and prosecuting defendants associated with foreign-based fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors. These include romance scams, phone scams, mass-mailing fraud schemes, and tech-support fraud schemes. For further information on these scams, see https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/senior-scam-alert.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.