Chicago Courier Gets 32 Months for Picking Up Cash Mailed by Elderly Victims of an Indian Call Center

On May 10, 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky announced that Patel, 39, an Indian national most recently residing in the Chicago area, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier to 32 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was ordered to pay $631,336.40 in restitution.

How the scheme worked

According to his plea agreement, Patel worked for an India-based call center. His co-conspirators in India ran a couple of different scams.

The government impostor scam. Callers posed as government officials. They convinced victims they were in legal or financial trouble and needed to send money to fix it or protect their savings.

The tech support refund scam. This one's the classic. Victims were tricked into thinking their computer security company had accidentally issued them a refund. Then they were told to withdraw the "excess refund" in cash and mail it back. The fake refunds ran from $9,000 to $20,000.

Either way, the cash ended up in the mail. Victims, most in their late 60s or 70s, sent packages addressed to fake names at addresses in the Chicago area, Central Kentucky and elsewhere. Patel and others retrieved those packages.

Victims lost anywhere from $9,000 to $375,000. Court records tie nine victims to Patel.

The sentence

32 months. Under federal law, Patel has to serve 85 percent of that. Then three years of supervised release.

He was charged alongside Kalpeshkumar Rasikbhai Patel. The charges against Kalpeshkumar Rasikbhai Patel are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The investigation was a team effort: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. The case was part of the Kentucky Elder Justice Task Force's work.

Why should you care?

Look at the refund amounts: $9,000 to $20,000. That's not pocket change, and the victims were asked to send it back in cash.

And notice the address trick. Fake names. Real addresses. Somebody shows up to grab the box. Couriers like Patel have to physically show up, which makes them the most exposed people in the scheme.

The call center was based in India. The people going to federal prison are the ones on U.S. soil.

What to do this week

• Teach the refund scam. No real security company "accidentally" refunds you thousands and asks for cash back.
• Never mail cash to anyone because a caller told you to.
• Government officials don't call demanding payment to protect your savings.
• If you know someone who may be a victim, contact law enforcement. TIGTA also has a reporting page at tigta.gov.

That's it. Cash in the mail is a scam. Every time.