Two Indian Citizens Admit to Receiving Over $1.2 Million in Global Robocall Scam
- Arushobike Mitra, 27, and Garbita Mitra, 24, “admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud by accepting illegally obtained $1.2 million in wire transfers from victims across the country.”
Two Indian nationals have admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud by accepting illegally obtained $1.2 million in wire transfers from victims across the country, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on June 29.
Arushobike Mitra, 27, and Garbita Mitra, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark, New Jersey federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a Department of Justice press release.
The two were part of an international fraud under which India-based call centers targeted U.S. residents, particularly the elderly, through robocalls.
These fraudsters would impersonate government officials from agencies such as the Social Security Administration, FBI or DEA and threatened the victims with severe legal or financial consequences if they did not comply, federal prosecutors alleged, per the DOJ press release.
Another method utilized by the callers involved convincing the victim they were speaking with someone from a tech support company and coercing the victim into granting the caller remote access to their personal computers. The caller would then access the victim’s bank accounts and make it appear to the victim that the caller had inadvertently added money to the victim’s bank account, when in fact the caller had simply transferred money from another one of the victim’s own accounts. The caller would then instruct the victim to “return” the money by way of mail or wire transfer to other members of the conspiracy, including the Mitras.
The conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine of twice the amount of the loss, whichever is greater. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Dec. 13.