NRI Pranav Patel Jailed for $2M Call Center Scam Targeting Seniors
Los Angeles/June 11, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
NRI Pranav Patel, a 33‑year‑old NRI from New Jersey, was sentenced to 75 months (6 years, 3 months) in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring in a nearly $2 million fraud targeting senior citizens in Florida and along the U.S. East Coast.
U.S. District Judge William Jung also ordered Patel to forfeit $1.79 million obtained through the scheme.
Patel acted as a money mule, picking up cash and gold from vulnerable elderly victims deceived by overseas call-centre fraudsters posing as U.S. government agents.
Victims were falsely told they faced arrest unless they paid up, sometimes surrendering life-saving amounts—one victim said they couldn’t pay their mortgage and had to sell their home.
The FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and local sheriff departments arrested Patel during a sting operation in December 2023, when he appeared to collect a package believed to contain gold.
Judge Jung condemned the case as “evil and wicked,” noting the significant harm inflicted on elderly victims.
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