US shuts India-based call centre that defrauded elderly Americans, 4 Indians convicted

The United States authorities informed on Thursday, May 21, that they have shut down an India-based call centre operation for defrauding hundreds of elderly Americans of millions of dollars through tech support scams. The X handle of FBI Boston informed that the call centre was shut after an “years-long investigation that led to the conviction of five telemarketing fraudsters.” In a post on X, it said, “Your FBI has shut down a call center operation in India that defrauded hundreds of elderly victims here in the U.S. & abroad out of millions of dollars through tech support scams, and two senior executives who operated a business that enabled it, have just admitted to turning a blind eye to this widespread fraud.” “This comes after an #FBI Boston investigation that has resulted in the arrests & convictions of a former employee of their call routing company, and five India-based telemarketing fraudsters,” it said. Also Read | The forensic audit is an investigative tool in need of a proper legal framework According to the US Attorney's Office, former CEO Adam Young, 42, of Miami, FL, and former CSO Harrison Gevirtz, 33, of Las Vegas, NV, have admitted to operating a business that provided telecommunications-related services, including “telephone numbers, call routing services, call tracking, and call forwarding services, to customers they knew were engaged in tech-support fraud schemes” who then targeted victims across and outside the country. They will be sentenced on June 16. Young and Gevirtz pleaded guilty after an investigation launched in 2020 led to the conviction of five India-based telemarketing fraudsters and a former employee of their call routing company. They were identified as Sahil Narang, Chirag Sachdeva, Abrar Anjum and Manish Kumar. The Indian nationals were convicted on charges related to India-based telemarketing fraud schemes that targeted and defrauded Americans, many of them elderly or otherwise vulnerable, the statement said. The investigation also led to the conviction of Jagmeet Singh Virk in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Authorities said the India-based call centres used Young and Gevirtz's business to route "tech fraud" calls and, in some cases, were advised on methods to reduce complaints and prevent account termination. US authorities said tech support scams cost Americans USD 2.1 billion last year, while residents of Rhode Island alone reported losses of at least USD 5.7 million. According to court documents, between 2016 and 2022, Young, Gevirtz and others were aware that some of their customers operated tech-support fraud schemes using deceptive pop-up messages that falsely warned computer users that their systems had been infected with viruses or malware. Victims were directed to call phone numbers displayed in the pop-ups, which connected them to call centres where they were persuaded to pay hundreds of dollars for unnecessary or fictitious technical-support services. In some cases, agents remotely accessed victims' computers and obtained personal and financial information. Court filings stated that despite receiving multiple complaints and inquiries from telecom providers and law enforcement agencies, Young and Gevirtz failed to report the fraud schemes and instead advised some customers on techniques to avoid complaints and prevent account terminations. They also assisted certain customers in buying and selling fraudulent calls among themselves, authorities alleged. "What the CEO and CSO of this well-known call tracking and analytics company did was downright despicable," Ted E Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said. "By their own admission, they willfully profited from telemarketing and tech support scammers, here and abroad, who preyed on the elderly, exploited the vulnerable, and drained victims of their life savings and peace of mind," he said.